Usopp's Master Plan of Love!
by MugiwaraLover
Summary: Usopp sees an opportunity to get two of his crew mates together! And being the master of love, he decides to help them. Normally, he wouldn't interfere with something like this, but seeing as one of the two was blissfully ignorant and the other was as stubborn as heck, just letting it be would be far too boring!
1. Chapter One: He notices

**Usopp's master plan of love!**

Reading the newly received letter for the 16th time, Usopp finally put it down and sighed happily, grinning widely as he thought over it in every way possible.

Seeing his strange behaviour, Zoro piped up, "What're you sighing about?" he grumbled. Since Usopp ignored his question and continued to daydream with a slight blush on his cheeks, Sanji decided to try next.

"Oi, Pinocchio. What's up with you?"

"Oi, Usopp! Hello? Are you sick!? SOMEBODY GET A DOCTOR!" cried Chopper, arms flailing hopelessly in the air.

"You're a doctor!" everyone said in unison, sweat-dropping at Chopper's ever-recurring mistake.

"Is there something wrong, sniper-san?" Robin asked.

"Yohohoho," Brook laughed, getting the attention of the eight other pirates in the room who were concerned for the curly haired liar. "It seems he has something in his hands." Brook revealed, pointing a bony finger at the object in question.

Usopp was clutching a creamy coloured letter with his name in fancy handwriting on the front, decorated with a few small hearts around the 'P'.

Luffy, who had obviously ran out of self-control and patience, stretched his hand out and swiftly took the envelope, causing the now back-to-normal Usopp to yelp and protest. Franky easily held him at bay while Nami took the letter from Luffy's hands and began to read out loud.

"_Dear Usopp-san,_" she began. "_I hope that you are doing well with Luffy-san and the others, and are having fun on your journey. It's been such a long while since I've seen you in person, but I know once you have accomplished what you and your crew have set out to do, you will visit me again. I cannot wait to see you! I've slowly been getting better and I am allowed to go outside and talk to the locals! I give you, Luffy-san, Zoro-san and Nami-san my sincerest thank you again for what you did. I smile a lot more now. I hope I will see you again soon. I can't wait to hear about all of your amazing stories from your adventures!_

_Love, Kaya._"

"Oh, so pickle-nose has a girlfriend." Sanji said, taking out a fresh cigarette and placing it in his mouth. At this comment, Usopp blushed furiously.

"No! She isn't my girlfriend!" he shouted, waving his hands around in denial.

"Wait, she isn't? She sure seemed to like you back on your island…" Zoro smirked, crossing his arms in satisfaction as Usopp began to blush more.

"And you obviously like her back…" Nami laughed, grinning deviously at her helpless best friend.

"Oi! Shaddup, Nami! It's not like that!" he cried, backing away from his friends, who seemed to be closing in on him.

"I had no idea sniper-san had a crush." giggled Robin.

"Wait to go! She sounds beautiful!" Franky proclaimed, earning a jealous glare from the sharpshooter. This did not go un-noticed by Brook.

"Do you think the lovely lady would be kind enough to let me see her pant-" Brook was cut off by Nami's fist pounding into his skull, sending him all the way to the other side of the ship.

"USOPP! ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE CHILDREN WITH HER? KIDS ARE AWESOME!" Luffy exclaimed, grinning stupidly.

Usopp, though not thought possible, somehow managed to blush more, grabbed the letter from Kaya out of Nami's hands and ran into the bathroom.

"Maybe we teased him too much?" Chopper said, a slight frown grazing his furry face.

"Nah, we're just… pushing him in the right direction! Yeah, that's right!" Franky answered.

"Yeah, that's what we're doing! You can see as plain as day that Usopp was feelings for this Kaya girl!" Sanji said, frowning only slightly that he could not meet this beautiful sounding lady immediately.

Everyone laughed, (save for Zoro, who gave an impartial grunt), and soon dispersed to do their usual hobbies, Robin reading a book out on deck, Nami along-side her, Zoro sleeping loudly against the mast, Luffy sitting on top of the figure piece staring out into the ocean. Sanji entered the kitchen and began preparing for lunch, while Chopper went inside the sick bay to clean up any mess there could be. Franky went to check on his cola supply while Brook played a random song on his violin, entertaining the people on deck.

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After calming down the colour on his face, Usopp sat quietly on deck, thankful that no one was deciding to tease him more, and thought about Kaya.

Oh, Kaya. To say he liked the girl was a definite understatement. Her gorgeous blonde hair, her laugh that lit up a room, all the way to her perfect pale skin. She was the girl for him. Just thinking about her made him giddy. He loved this feeling, being in love. This feeling was the best kind of feeling you could have. He felt like he was floating on air.

He felt happier than Luffy with an endless amount of meat, happier than Zoro with being able to sleep in peace! Happier than Nami finishing another map! Happier than Sanji when he talked about 'All Blue'! Happier than Chopper was when he told him a lie-encrusted story that sprang to mind! Happier than Robin with a brand new set of books! Happier than Franky with more cola than needed! Even happier than Brook was when he told a skull-joke that everyone actually found funny!

Everyone deserved to feel this happy!

His thoughts were interrupted however, when he saw Nami. She looked incredibly calm… Wait, what was that, she was smiling?!

It wasn't one of those 'You're going to owe me so much you won't have the clothes on your back' type of smiles, yet he recognized this grin. Oh yes, it was the kind of smile he'd give when he thought about Kaya! But, why was Nami smiling like that?

Curious to find out what was causing Nami to act like this, Usopp decided to follow her eyes to find that she was staring at none other than Monkey D. Luffy.

"Eh?!" he whispered, staring intently at the both of them.

If he didn't know any better… it almost seemed like Nami… No! Impossible!

Although Nami was his best friend, there was no way Nami could have _these_ kinds of feelings about anyone! Especially Luffy of all people! She just didn't seem like the kind of person! Always hitting people, finding Sanji's endless shower of affection annoying (although he could see why…), never even blushing once! Yet, there she was, staring lovingly towards the captain, who sat ignorantly on the side of the Sunny. It seemed even Nami had fallen into love's trap.

Grinning widely, Ussop knew what he had to do. Like he said, everyone deserved to feel this way! So now, _**Usopp's Master Plan of Love **_was now under way! All he needed was a little help…


	2. Chapter Two: Zoro's Plan

**Usopp's master plan of love!**

Seeing how Nami had looked at Luffy, Usopp called everyone (save for the navigator and captain) into the kitchen to discuss the problem at hand.

"So, why are we here?" Franky asked, giving a confused look to the sharpshooter who was sitting proudly at one end of the table.

Chopper, who was sitting on the right side of Usopp, gave him an intrigued look, waiting for him to answer.

Zoro was slightly grumpy because he had been woken up for what seemed, at this moment in time, nothing. Sanji was waiting in silence, staring at Usopp as well as Robin, who had a small smile on her face.

Brook was sitting on the left side of the long-nosed man quietly waiting to see what they were about to discuss.

"Well, after you all decided to tease me ruthlessly about my love-life," he started, glaring accusingly around the table as certain people began to chuckle silently. "I went to sit on deck. As I was there I saw something rather… interesting." he finished, glancing around at the people before him.

"What was it?" Sanji asked. Zoro grunted, nodding towards the sniper to elaborate.

"Nami was out there too. She was smiling towards Luffy," he said, getting mixed glances from around the table. Chopper looked confused, Brook and Franky stayed silent, waiting for him to continue, Sanji looked livid, as if knowing what he was going to say next, Zoro smirked at the cook's expression and Robin smiled knowingly as she always did, chin resting in her hands.

"Smiling?" Chopper asked, confused as to why this was breaking news.

"Yes, but not just any kind of smile. It was a smile full of love!" Usopp declared, which made Sanji bite down on his cigarette, splitting it in half. Zoro laughed at Sanji's anger and despair, while Robin giggled quietly. Franky smiled slightly and Brook laughed his trade-mark laugh, trying to think of a skull-joke that would fit the topic of discussion.

"What does this mean, Usopp!?" Chopper asked.

"It means, my loyal follower, that Nami seems to have feelings for our captain!" he finished, smiling happily as he looked towards the reindeer.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MY NAMI-SWAN WOULD NEVER FALL FOR SUCH AN IDIOT!" Sanji screamed, forcing his fist down onto the table, causing Chopper to jump and automatically turn into guard point.

"I MUST GO TALK HER OUT OF THIS! SHE JUST MUST BE CONFUSED!" the cook declared, making his way to the door.

"SOMEONE RESTRAIN HIM!" Usopp shouted, not wanting Sanji to ruin anything, and knowing full well that he wasn't strong enough to hold the cook down.

"Gladly." Zoro smirked as he stood up and quickly restrained Sanji by tying a rope around him and throwing him none to gently to the side of the room. Since he was now gagged, the cook thrashed around as his muffled screams of anger tried to reach the people in the room.

"Where did you get the rope from?..." Chopper asked quietly, although he was ignored as Usopp began to speak again and Zoro took his seat.

"Anyway, seeing as I am the master of love," he declared, getting raised eye brows from pretty much everyone in the room. "I thought that we could help the two get together!" he smiled, waiting for responses.

"That's a very nice thing to do, sniper-san. I would love to help." Robin answered with a smile.

"I don't really care if they get together or not, but I'll do anything to keep the shitty-cook unhappy." Zoro remarked, grinning as he heard Sanji bash around louder from this insult.

"I'd love nee-chan and captain to get together! That would be so," Franky said as 'manly' tears travelled down his face "ROMANTIC!" he screamed, wiping away his tears and dismissing them as something in his eye.

"I'll help too!" Chopper added.

"Yohoho, I will help too!" Brook mused.

"Great! Everyone's in! Well, except for Sanji…" Usopp muttered the last part as he stared at the helpless cook.

"We'll just keep him away from Nami and Luffy at all times." he added.

"But what about at breakfast, lunch and dinner?" Franky asked.

"Ah… We can just keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't say anything!" Brook said.

"Great!" Usopp exclaimed.

Everyone started muttering about the new piece of news until Zoro piped up with a question.

"So… What's the actual plan, anyway?" he asked, looking at Usopp with a questioning look.

Usopp stayed silent for a while, making everybody sweat drop.

"You haven't thought of anything yet, have you?" Franky muttered, crossing his arms.

"Well, not exactly! I thought that what we could do is take it in turns to do a plan of our own!" Usopp said happily.

"WOW, WHAT A GREAT PLAN!" Chopper yelled in awe.

"You just thought of that now…" Zoro, Franky and Brook said quietly.

"Even so, it is still a good plan, sniper-san." Robin agreed, nodding her head and smiling.

"Okay then, so who's going first?" Zoro asked.

"I thought it would be easier if we just went through in the order of who joined first." Usopp answered.

"So then I guess it's me…" Zoro said with despair. Getting people together was definitely _not _his forte. He stayed silent, deep in thought as he went through ideas in his head.

"Okay," he muttered, not liking that he had to play match-maker, even at the expense of seeing Sanji practically shrivel up and die. "Here's my plan…"

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Nami sat on the deck, running a hand through her hair to keep it out of her face as the wind blew gently. The day had been peaceful so far, although lunch was quite strange. All through it she could see Usopp glancing at her and Robin smiling lightly at her too. Sanji was awfully depressed and he didn't say anything the whole time, which was certainly strange considering he would praise her or Robin endlessly whenever he could get a word in.

"Something's going on here…" she muttered to herself.

Then she noticed Luffy staring at her. He always had those owlish-like eyes, didn't he? Some people would find it un-nerving, yet it made her smile to see her captain giving her attention like this. He looked almost cute whenever he did this. She chuckled at the thought. Then she realised that she had been staring at him for the past minute while she was lost in thought. She blushed and quickly turned her head away from him, pretending as though nothing happened.

"Oi, Nami!" Luffy called, grabbing her attention.

"What is it Luffy?" she asked, staring at him with a slight frown on her face.

"Usopp said that he wanted everyone to meet him in the crow's nest!" Luffy laughed, walking over to Nami and grabbing her hand to get her on her feet. He started to make his way to the crow's nest, still holding on to the orange-haired girl's hand. She noticed this and blushed slightly, taking it back and returning it to her side.

Once they were in the crow's nest, they noticed that everyone was there too, sitting in different places. Chopper was sitting next to Usopp, Robin sat next to a still-depressed looking Sanji, and Brook was standing near Franky who had his arms crossed. Zoro, who was leaning against the wall, began talking.

"Since Curly-brow is in a shitty mood, he can't keep watch tonight, so we were wondering if you two could."

"Eh, why both of us?" Nami asked, creasing her brow in suspicion.

"Well, if Sanji wakes up in the middle of the night, Luffy can still keep watch while Nami can go and comfort him."

"Ah, that makes sense." Luffy said, lightly punching his fist into the palm of his other hand while wearing a serious expression, trying to look professional.

"I see, but why can't Robin do it then?" Nami asked.

"I'm sorry, Navigator-san. I'm going to be helping Doctor-kun tend to Cook-san late into the night, so I'm afraid I'll be too tired to keep watch tonight." Robin answered, a fake frown laced gently on her face.

After a minute of trying to find any other way to get out of this, Nami came up with nothing. Sighing in minor defeat, she agreed to the arrangements and headed out the door for a nice, warm bath to calm her nerves.

After Luffy left to go and probably steal some food from the fridge, everyone sighed in relief,(save for Sanji), for the plan had worked so far.

"Okay, so now we need to choose who wants to stay up and watch what happens…" Usopp declared, rubbing his chin with his hand.

"I will!" Chopper said happily.

"I shall, too." Brook hummed.

"I would like to watch, if you wouldn't mind, sniper-san." Robin smiled.

"I wanna watch!" Franky yelled.

Zoro merely grunted in response. Since it was his idea, he might as well stay and watch what happened, but if they started kissing and stuff, he would leave immediately…

"Ah, so everyone is staying up then!" Usopp grinned, then pointed towards Sanji.

"And we can't let him say anything to ruin this, so we will have to keep him up here with us, too."

"WHAT?!" Sanji growled. He then ran towards the door, screaming for Nami.

Chopper quickly injected the cook with something, and he fell to the floor instantly, sleeping.

"Woah, nice one Chopper!" marvelled Usopp.

"Well then, let's stay up here and watch how this folds out…" Robin added, glancing down towards the deck where Nami and Luffy stood, watching out into the horizon.

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Luffy sat on the figure head, looking out with a slightly bored expression on his face, to the sea. It was dark outside now as he and Nami stood watch. He wondered why Nami had seemed reluctant to do this with him. Did she not like spending time with him?

He frowned slightly.

"Oi, Nami!" he called, looking back towards the red-haired navigator who was sitting quietly on the deck.

"What?" she asked.

"Do you not like spending time with me?" he asked, frowning more as he jumped down beside her and sat.

"Wh-what? Of course I do, you idiot! Why would you think I wouldn't?" she asked, a little insulted that he would think otherwise.

"Just wondering!" he said as he grinned, happy that he was mistaken.

He continued to stare at her. He never noticed before, but her hair seemed different with the moonlight shining on it. It looked even prettier than usual.

Nami realised she was being watched and blushed a little, turning to face him.

"What?" she asked again.

Luffy quickly snapped out of his daze and laughed. "You're hair looks pretty at night, Nami!"

She hit him on the head "WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? IT LOOKS HORRIBLE IN DAYLIGHT?" she screamed, glaring at him.

Luffy merely laughed harder while rubbing his head "Of course not! It's always pretty!" he grinned.

Nami felt herself blush a little more and turned away from him, looking back to the sea.

They sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the night, and Nami found herself growing tired and resting her head on Luffy's shoulder.

-Back in the crow's nest-

"Aww, do you see that!? She's resting her head on his shoulder!" Usopp grinned as he stared down at the two.

Zoro had fallen asleep quite a while before, using the unconscious Sanji as a pillow.

Robin giggled lightly as she stared down at Luffy and Nami.

Brook and Franky laughed along with her, and Chopper was resting on Usopp's shoulder, seeing as he was too small in his normal form to look over the window and was too tired to transform.

"So, Zoro's plan was a success seeing as it brought them closer! Who's next?" Franky asked.

"That would be you, wouldn't it Usopp?" Chopper piped up.

"Oh, I-I wanted to save my plan for last!" he laughed, sweating slightly.

"You don't have a plan yet, do you?" Franky and Brook said, sweat dropping.

"O-of course I d-do! It involves all 8,000 of my loyal followers, though, so I can't do it right now!" he stated.

"AWESOME!" Chopper exclaimed, eyes shining, forgetting about his tiredness.

"Okay, well then," Robin began. "Next would be navigator-san, but she obviously isn't participating in this." she said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Theeeeeeeeeeen~," Brook sang. "It would be Sanji. Too bad he refuses to help…"

"Then it's me!" Chopper mused happily, jumping off Usopp's shoulder and going to the centre of the room, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Well then, my plan is…"


	3. Chapter Three: Chopper's Plan

**Usopp's master plan of love!**

Staying up late into the night, Chopper mixed and mixed until finally… It was ready.

"YES! I'VE DONE IT!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down on his chair in the sickbay, clapping his hands in pure delight.

Jumping down, he made his way out the door and skipped over to the boy's cabin. Opening the door quietly, he tiptoed in, mindful to not wake everyone, and made his way over to the sharpshooter.

"Psst, Usopp!" he whispered, shaking his friend slightly to wake him.

Usopp muttered something incomprehensible and turned away from what was interrupting his slumber. Brow furrowing, Chopper stretched over the sniper's bed and yanked firmly on his incredibly long nose, making Usopp wake up with a start.

Before he could make any loud noise, Chopper covered his mouth with one of his hooves and gave him a serious look. Moving away to the door and motioning behind him, Chopper left the room silently, closely followed by Usopp, who was now wide awake.

Making their way across the deck, the duo entered the sickbay. Chopper sat back down in his seat, turning to face his friend who decided to sit on the bed.

"So? Have you finished it?" Usopp asked, staring intently at the reindeer.

"Yes! It's all ready for after lunch!" Chopper laughed, grinning as he spoke.

"Phew! For a while there I thought that it was going to be impossible!" Usopp sighed with relief. "How do you even _make _a truth potion?" he asked.

Chopper sighed. "You probably wouldn't understand my explanation." he muttered, jumping down from his seat and making his way to the door.

"Excuse me! I happen to be ranked the smartest man in the world!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms for emphasis.

"WOW, REALLY!?" Chopper shouted, smiling gleefully at his _amazing _friend.

"Of course! My award was given to me by Gol D. Roger himself!" Usopp said proudly.

"But I thought you weren't alive in Roger's life time!" Chopper asked.

Usopp faltered, sweating slightly. "T-that's what you'd think! I w-was _so_ amazing, Gol D. Roger came down to Earth itself _just _to give me my trophy!" he countered.

"AMAZING!" Chopper shouted, hugging the sharpshooter's leg in pure admiration.

"Anyways, we should be getting some sleep. We'll talk to everyone about the truth potion in the morning." Usopp yawned, stretching his skinny arms above his head and standing up to walk to the exit.

"You're right." Chopper agreed, copying Usopp and hopping over to the boy's cabin with him.

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It was now just after lunch on the Sunny. Chopper and Usopp had earlier talked to the other people in on the plan, telling them that everything was ready to go. Chopper was sitting anxiously by Robin's side, waiting for Franky's signal to indicate that Luffy was coming. Looking over to the other side of the ship, he saw Brook looking around quietly, searching for a certain red-haired navigator.

Raising one of his bony fingers, Brook knocked on his skull. Chopper nodded slightly, and then turned to Franky. He saw the shipwright lightly punch his head, and at that moment Luffy strolled on deck.

"Oi, Luffy!" called Chopper, getting the rubber boy's attention. The captain grinned widely as he made his way over to the doctor.

"What's up, Chopper?" he asked, sitting down cross-legged in front of him.

"I was wondering if you wanted to play a game!" Chopper asked, wringing his hooves nervously.

"Sure! What is it?" he asked.

"Ah, it's called Truth or Dare!" Chopper exclaimed, tapping on the deck loudly, which caught Robin's attention as she sat up and made her way over to the kitchen where a moping Sanji was.

As Chopper explained the rules to Luffy, Robin walked in and tapped Sanji lightly on the shoulder.

Lifting his head slowly off of the surface of the counter, Sanji's eyes suddenly lit up and he grinned lovingly.

"Is there anything you need, my sweet, sweet Robin-chwan?" he exclaimed, wiggling around the archaeologist.

"Yes, cook-san. I was wondering if you would be kind enough to make me a drink, please." she said, smiling softly at the love-struck man.

"OF COURSE, ROBIN-CHWAN! I WILL MAKE IT IMMEDIATELY!" Sanji cooed, rushing over to get fruit and pouring them into the blender.

Robin sat down in the dining room and waited patiently for him to finish. Once he had, she thanked him and walked out to return to her spot next to Chopper.

Since she was in the kitchen, Zoro, Usopp and Nami had made their way on deck and were now sitting with Brook, Franky, Luffy and Chopper by her seat.

Pouring the concoction Chopper had given her into the drink; Robin made her way over, giving it to Nami.

"Here you are, Navigator-san. It's from Cook-san." Robin smiled, sitting back down in her seat.

"Thank you, Robin." Nami smiled, sipping at the drink that she was handed.

"Why don't you have one Robin? It's delicious!" Nami asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

"I had one earlier today, so I don't feel like having one now. But you are right about them being delicious, Navigator-san!" Robin smiled, settling back down in her chair.

"Oh, Robin. We were just talking about playing a game!" Chopper said, smiling as he looked to his side.

"What game would that be, Doctor-kun?" Robin asked, acting naturally.

"Truth or Dare!" Usopp exclaimed.

"I would love to play, if you wouldn't mind, Doctor-kun." Robin asked.

"That's fine! Everyone else, save for Sanji, is playing too!" Chopper grinned, turning back to the other pirates.

Everyone smiled and nodded in agreement as they sat down in a circle in the middle of the deck. Chopper was sitting between Usopp and Franky. Brook was on the left side of Zoro who was next to Luffy. Nami was on the other side of Robin, who was sitting next to Usopp. Luffy sat next to Nami.

"Okay, so we'll go around the circle. When it's your turn, choose someone else in the circle and ask them "Truth or Dare?". Then they will choose. If they choose 'dare' you think of a dare for them to do. If they choose 'truth' you can ask them one question for them to answer completely truthfully. Got it, everyone?" Chopper explained, smiling around the circle.

Everyone collectedly nodded and the game started.

"I'll start!" Franky said, smiling as he looked around the circle in search of someone to ask. "Um… I choose Zoro!"

Grumbling as he awoke from his quick nap after hearing his name, he turned to Franky.

"Truth or dare?" the cyborg asked.

"Truth…" Zoro muttered.

"Okay… Why do you sleep with your swords?" Franky smirked.

"WHAT? IS THAT A PROBLEM?" Zoro shouted, annoyed at the devious grin the shipwright wore.

Everyone in the circle snickered quietly as Zoro turned to glare at each of them.

"Well, no, nothing's wrong with that. I was just wondering _why _you snuggle up to them in your bed like a teddy bear every night…" Franky murmured, still smiling widely, highly amused at the green-haired man's frustration.

"So I can kill you in your sleep if you annoy me in the day…" scowled Zoro, sending shivers down Franky's spine as he turned to look away from the angry man's piercing stare.

"A-anyway, I guess it's my turn…" Brook muttered as he looked around the circle.

"Yohoho, I choose Robin." he smiled.

"Dare please." Robin said, running a hand through her hair.

"I dare you… to see how many hands you can sprout on Chopper!" Brook laughed.

"Cien Fleur!" Robin chanted, instantaneously growing one hundred hands onto the reindeer doctor.

"WOAH! AWESOME!" Usopp, Luffy and Chopper all shouted in unison, grinning widely.

Hands disappearing, Chopper sat back down.

"Now it's Zoro's… turn…" Chopper said, turning to see that Zoro had fallen asleep.

"Now it's my turn! Shishishi!" Luffy laughed. "Usopp! Truth or dare!?"

"Truth." Usopp said. "What?" he then asked, turning his head to look at all the people before him, who were giving him an amused look.

"Haha, Usopp telling the truth!" Franky exclaimed, laughing louder as Usopp turned to him and gave him an annoyed look.

"This is quite ironic, haha!" Nami laughed as well, grinning widely at her best friend.

Everyone quieted down as Luffy started to speak. "Okay! Is your nose naturally that long?" he asked, looking over to Usopp from the other side of the circle.

Everyone else looked genuinely intrigued for Usopp's answer.

"OF COURSE IT IS!" he shouted, seemingly annoyed as to why they would think that it wasn't.

"I'm not sure if he's lying or not…" everyone said as they sweat dropped.

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Going through, it was finally Chopper's turn. "I choose Nami!" he exclaimed, turning to the girl in question.

"Okay," she said, smiling at the reindeer. "I choose truth."

'_Perfect…_' thought Usopp and Chopper.

"Okay…" he began, smirking slightly. "Are you in love with anyone?" he asked.

"Yes." she said immediately. Gasping, she covered her mouth and shook her head. "W-wait, I-"

"Who!?" asked everyone. Even Zoro had woken up from her instantaneous answer and gawked at her. Wow, did Chopper do a good job on that truth potion or _what?_

"I can only answer one question a turn!" she screamed, trying to find any way to get out of this uncomfortable position.

Luffy merely stared at her silently with his owlish-like eyes.

"Okay, it's my turn next then." said Franky. "I choose Nami!" he grinned, turning to face her.

"Dare!" Nami said, smirking slightly at her clever way to avoid the question that she knew was coming.

"Okay… I _dare _you to tell us who you are in love with!" he said, smirking wider than her.

'_Shit._' she thought, sweating slightly. What was making her do this? No way she would ever tell anyone about this kind of thing! And why was she even talking about this kind of thing, anyway!? She wasn't _in love _with anybody! Or… was she? No! Of course not! Who would she be in love with anyway!?

"Lu-" she started, interrupted by a yelling Sanji.

"DINNER! NAMI-SWAN! ROBIN-CHWAN!" he bellowed, hearts in eyes as he danced back into the kitchen, only to turn slightly and mutter, "Dinner, maggots..." to the men on deck.

"OH, LOOK AT THAT! DINNER! LET'S GO EVERYONE!" Nami screamed, a little _too_ loudly, as she ran to follow Sanji, leaving the rest of the straw hat crew in amazed silence.

"Out of _all_ the times for him to interrupt something…" Zoro grumbled to himself as he got up and made his way to the kitchen also.

Chopper, Usopp, Franky and Brook all stood up in obvious depression about nearly getting it out of her, and made their way too, closely followed by a slightly upset Robin.

Luffy stood up and made his way too. Usually, when anything about food made him jump from whatever he was doing and race in front, but right now he was slowly making his way, a strange expression grazing his features.

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"Well, since Sanji ruined the moment, we couldn't get her to confess. Good job, though, Chopper! She was definitely about to say Luffy!" Usopp exclaimed happily, clapping the reindeer on the back. Sanji merely grunted, smirking as it seemed, to him, that since he was able to stop Nami from saying anything in her _obviously _confused state, that fate itself was trying to get him and the red-head together.

"Who's next then?" Brook asked.

"That would be me." Robin smiled sweetly, crossing her legs elegantly in her seat.

"Great! What's your plan?" Chopper asked. Franky, Brook and Usopp all nodded for her to carry on. Zoro merely looked her way as he rested against the wall inside the crow's nest. Since they started this mission to get the navigator and captain together, this was used as their 'base' for when they were discussing anything about it.

"First of all, tomorrow I need sniper-san to take Luffy out on deck…"


	4. Chapter Four: Robin's Plan

**Usopp's master plan of love!**

The Sunny was slowly edging closer to the dock of an inhabited island. The weather was quickly clearing into a warm and slightly breezy summer afternoon as the Strawhats made their way to the front of the ship.

"OI, NAMI! WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE ISLAND?" shouted Luffy, excitement practically emitting from his body.

"I believe it's called Eienoai* Island… Huh, interesting name." muttered Nami, looking closer into the logs she held.

"IT MUST BE FATE! NAMI-SWAN!" Sanji called, making his way from the kitchen, "SEE? FATE WANTS _US_ TOGETHER! NO WAY IT WANTS YOU TO BE WITH THAT IDIOT L-"

Zoro smacked down on Sanji's head with the back of one of his katanas, effectively knocking the cook out cold. Usopp sweat-dropped as he turned to face a confused Nami.

"So, how long until we get there?" he asked her, ripping her attention away from the blonde-haired chef.

"Should be a few hours, I'd say. Maybe three?" she answered, turning and making her way back to her seat to continue sun bathing.

Robin followed shortly, picking up her book from the side table. Smiling to herself, she started to count down the steps to her plan in her head. As soon as they docked, she would take Luffy out into town…

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"Captain-san," Robin started, getting the attention of the boy in question, as well as the rest of the crew. "I was wondering if you would accompany me out to town, please." she asked, smiling sweetly to Luffy.

"Sure!" he grinned, starting to make his way over to the side of the ship and jumping down to the grassy ground. Robin followed shortly, not missing the slightly confused and irritated look cast on the red-haired navigator's features.

"Why does Robin want to go with Luffy?" Nami asked, huffing slightly as she turned to face the others around her.

"Dunno. How long until the log pose sets anyway?" said Usopp, effectively lying for once.

"Not sure. I'm going to go and ask around, though. Who's going out for supplies?" Nami answered, dusting down her clothes and walking over to the ladder to get down.

"I need to get food supplies, Nami-swan!" replied Sanji, noodling over towards her.

"I'm just gonna go train…" muttered Zoro, jumping off the same way Luffy did a few minutes ago.

"I'm fine to stay and watch the ship." Ussop smiled, turning to go and fish.

"I'll stay on the ship, too." Franky said, turning around to follow Usopp.

"Yohoho, I'd like to go and explore a bit." Brook hummed, following Sanji.

"I need to get some new bandages…" said Chopper, picking his hat up to let a stray piece of paper fall out. "Oh, I also need some anaesthetic. We're running low." he exclaimed as he looked over the note and shoved it back under his headgear.

"Okay, so Franky and Usopp are staying, the rest are out in town." Nami muttered to herself as she motioned down the ladder, staring idly at her log pose.

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Robin and Luffy were walking through town, Luffy leading as he marvelled at the sight around him. Large buildings towered above them, each decorated with brightly coloured hearts, flapping slightly in the weak wind. Locals of the town were bustling around with huge, almost comical like, smiles. Greeting each other with hugs and kisses, the town was definitely busy today.

"Excuse me, jii-chan," Robin asked an old man, who was patting down the last ornament into his lawn. Looking up, he smiled widely.

"Ah, konichiwa, oujo-san. Is there something I can help you with?" he said as he stood up, wobbling slightly.

"I was wondering why everyone is decorating their houses like this." she asked.

"Oh! Well, in this town we have our own special holiday!" he proclaimed, grinning wider as he motioned behind him to the rest of the town. "It's called Airihina**!"

Robin smiled, turning to face Luffy who was staring at the old man.

"Oi, jii-san! Do you have any food?!" he asked, looking towards his house.

"Oh, how rude of me. Please, come inside and I'll get some snacks for you." he said, walking towards his front door and holding it for them.

"THANKS, JII-SAN! YOU'RE THE BEST!" screamed Luffy, who ran inside, leaving a trail of dust behind him.

"Thank you, jii-san." smiled Robin, following her captain in and sitting quietly in the living area.

"You're welcome." replied the man, turning to the kitchen. Coming back out with food and placing it in the middle of the wooden table that sat in front of Robin, the old man offered her and Luffy tea, then turned to sit down on the opposite seat.

"Could you please tell me about Airihina, jii-san?" Robin asked, as Luffy busied himself with an apple for a few seconds, before devouring the rest of the fruit in an inhumane amount of time.

Gawking slightly at the boy, the old man turned to face the dark-haired woman.

"Please, call me Hotaka." he smiled, sipping at his cup and placing it down with a clink on the table.

Robin smiled, "Okay, Hotaka-san. My name is Robin and this is Luffy."

Hotaka smiled towards the young boy who was close to finishing the amount of food he had brought out. Turning to face Robin, he shifted slightly in his seat, getting comfortable.

"So you wish to know about Airihina, Robin-chan?" he asked.

"Yes, please." she replied, drinking quietly before she set her cup down and rested her hands in her lap.

"Well, the story about Airihina is legendary on this island. It started with a young girl called Haruka. Living alone in the world, Haruka was used to having no one for company. She wondered around by herself, never letting anyone get too close to her. She would go from town to town, making sure she didn't get too attached to anyone. She was terrified of being too friendly with anyone because when she was younger; all the people she ever cared about were taken from her, never to be seen again. She never knew why they were taken; all she knew is that she had no one left in the world. Becoming friends with anyone was too risky for her, scared that they would be taken from her too.

"One day, in this very town, a young man by the name of Takehiko was sitting in a bar. Haruka came in, and it was love at first sight. Takehiko went up to her and asked for her name, but she was frightened and ran away. Takehiko tried to run after her but was stopped by the barman. 'There's no use in trying to talk to her,' he said, 'it's as almost as if she's too scared to be close to anybody.'

"Takehiko then went home and tried to forget about Haruka. Morning came, and poor Takehiko did not sleep a wink. All he could think about was Haruka. He went back to the bar in search of her, but she wasn't there. He searched all around town for hours and hours until finally he found her. She was sitting against the side of a building, entertaining herself by indenting the dirt under her feet with a wooden stick. Takehiko walked up and greeted her. Haruka became scared and tried to flee, but Takehiko didn't let her. She kept trying to escape frantically running around, trying to break free, but she couldn't. Taking a deep breath, Haruka raised her head and stared at Takehiko, who stared back in return. He then asked for her name again, and this time she replied. 'Haruka.' she said, shifting uncomfortably as he still held his intense stare. He replied with his own name, and asked her why she ran away the day before. 'I can't get too close to anybody, so it would be best if you left now.' she said, staring back at him with a slight frown. Takehiko was confused by her answer. 'Why can't you be close with anybody? What about your family?' he asked, which caused Haruka to flinch, eyes watering. 'T-they were taken away from me when I was young. Everyone I was ever close to was taken away from me.' she choked out, wiping her eyes furiously.

"Takehiko merely smiled and moved closer, pulling Haruka into a hug. Haruka gasped, trying to free herself. After another failed attempt of trying to break free, Haruka hugged him back, letting out tears that she had been holding in for nearly a decade.

"Moving back, Takehiko smiled at Haruka, taking her hand and leading her out into the town.

'W-what are you doing?!" she yelled, terrified of something happening to him for getting too close to her.

"What happened to the people you loved before is tragic and I'm deeply sorry for what you had to go through at such a young age, but staying in the dark for the rest of your life is not the thing to you. If you would allow it, I would like to show you some of my friends, and maybe we could all be friends together." Takehiko smiled, picking up his pace as he rounded another corner.

"But what if something happens to you?!" Haruka frowned. This man was pulling down her defences.

"Nothing will happen to me," Takehiko said, stopping and turning around to face her. "I promise." he smiled.

Slowly, Haruka smiled. Her first smile since she was a child. So many years had she hidden in the shadows, desperately trying to keep everyone away from her. Yet from just one hug and a few comforting words, she finally felt happy again. She finally had a friend. A friend that she could depend on to be there for her. A friend that promised that nothing bad was going to happen. She had never felt like this before. Her heart felt like it was swelling in an alarming rate. Even though they just met, Takehiko was more than a friend to her.

"A few years later, Haruka finally had friends. People she cared for! She was liked all throughout the town, and everyone seemed to know her name. She finally had a reason to smile, and it was all thanks to Takehiko. A year prior to this, she had realised that the feelings she held to Takehiko were different to the feelings she had to her other friends. She realised that she was in love with him. When she found out that her feelings were mutual, they got married and lived happily together, swearing that they would look out for each other and the rest of their friends for their whole lives." finished Hotaka.

Robin who had been listening intently, smiled warmly at the lovely story.

"That was a very beautiful tale, Hotaka-san. What does Airihina celebrate?" she asked.

"It celebrates the unity and the power of true love. Now every year we plant new crops at the place the bar in the story used to be, which represents new life."

Hotaka, smiling, glanced over at a picture that lay on the window sill. The photo showed a young woman with wavy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, holding hands with a young man, who was unmistakably Hotaka himself at a younger age.

Turning back, Hotaka rested his eyes on Luffy, who had finished eating near the start of the story and had also listened. Luffy smiled back at him.

"Thanks for the food, jii-san!" exclaimed the rubber man.

"We should be going now. Thank you again, Hotaka-san." Robin smiled, turning to leave.

"Come again soon, you two!" he shouted after them, grinning widely as they left.

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Back on deck, Nami, Sanji, Chopper and Brook stood, waiting for the other three.

"Do you think Robin and Luffy are okay?" asked Chopper, frowning slightly in worry.

"I'LL COME AND SAVE YOU, ROBIN-CHWAN!" declared Sanji, ready to leap off the ship in search of the archaeologist.

"There's no point in that, Sanji-kun," Nami said, hitting Sanji on the head quickly. "Robin's strong. Plus, Luffy's there to help her."

"Hey, where's Zoro?" asked Franky, who was walking towards the four, Usopp following closely behind.

"Probably got lost…" they muttered, sweat dropping.

Just then, a moody Zoro appeared from the ladder, grumbling something as he pulled himself over the side of the ship and walked over to the crowd of strawhats.

"What's got you so pissed?" Sanji scowled, looking over at the green-haired man.

"It's nothing, you curly-eyed bastard." he spat, walking to the mast to take a nap.

"Yep, he definitely got lost." everyone muttered.

A few minutes later, Robin and Luffy appeared. Robin greeted everyone and walked over to her chair, picking up her new book about Eienoai Island and began to read.

Luffy was grinning a little too widely as he made his way over to his navigator.

"Oi, Nami!" Luffy greeted, getting the attention of the rest of the crew, (besides Zoro, who was still sleeping soundly).

"Yes?" she asked, turning around to face him fully.

Putting a hand in his pocket and rustling it around a little, Luffy finally managed to pull something out. Reaching his arm out and taking Nami's hand with the other, he carefully placed the item into her palm.

Nami closed her hand around it and brought it up to her face, inspecting it. Gasping slightly, she realised what it was, as did the crew. Luffy had just handed Nami a beautiful silver necklace. A heart delicately dangled from it, catching the light as it shone a hundred different shades of blue.

"Luffy… Did… Did you buy this for _me?_" she asked quietly, astonished at such an expensive looking gift.

"Yep! Robin helped me pick it out!" he laughed, pointing towards the woman in question. Robin merely lifted her gaze from the book and smiled warmly at the orange-haired girl, and then continued to read.

"Do you like it?" Luffy asked, smiling warmly at Nami.

"Yes, of course I do," she smiled, "but why did you randomly get me a gift?"

"Oh, because they have this special holiday on this island. I forgot what it's called, though…" he muttered.

"It's called Airihina, captain-san." reminded Robin, who sat up and made her way to stand with the rest of the crew.

"Oh, yeah! Airihina! They were selling loads of these pretty looking things so I got you this!" Luffy laughed happily as he saw Nami break into a wide smile.

"HOW DARE YOU BUY _MY_ NAMI-SWAN A GIFT LIKE THIS!" yelled Sanji, outraged as he started making his way to pound Luffy.

"She's not _yours_…" muttered Luffy, frowning slightly. Blinking, he thought over what he just said. Realising that thinking was making his head hurt, he merely shrugged it off and turned to face Nami again with a wide smile.

"Thanks a lot, Luffy! It's gorgeous!" grinned Nami, who reached up at kissed Luffy lightly on the cheek. She then walked back towards her cabin to find an outfit that would go with the new piece of jewellery she had.

As Nami kissed Luffy, Sanji fell to the floor in shock and despair, Usopp snickered slightly, Chopper looked unfazed, Robin smiled warmly, and Brook and Franky grinned widely. Zoro had woken up just in time to see it, saw it, pulled a slightly disgusted face, and tried to fall back asleep.

Luffy merely stood there for a moment, not moving. Then, he slowly smiled and walked over to the kitchen in search of food.

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"Well…" Usopp started. "I wasn't expecting _that_." he said, grinning widely and he sat down in the crow's nest.

Everyone agreed, laughing quietly, (save for Zoro, who grimaced at the thought of what happened).

"Still… Well done Robin! Your plan to get Luffy to buy something for Nami exceeded with flying colours!" grinned Franky, giving a thumbs-up to the dark-haired woman.

"Thank you," Robin smiled, "It was actually quite lucky considering they were having a holiday about love! All I had to do was drop a few hints to captain-san."

"Well then, the next person to do their plan is Franky!" cheered Chopper, clapping his hooves together as he turned to the blue-haired man.

"Well, I have a SUUPAA plan!" he grinned, looking down to the reindeer.

"But it can't start until we get to the next island…"

* 'Eien no ai' means 'Everlasting love'.

** 'Airi' is a combination of the words 'Ai' (love) and 'Ri' (Jasmine). 'Hina' is a combination of the words 'Hi' (sun) and 'Na' (vegetables)


	5. Chapter Five: Franky's Plan

**Usopp's master plan of love!**

The cool crisp air of the autumn island danced lightly around the strawhats on deck, carrying a cluster of fiery coloured leaves along with it.

"So," continued Franky, crossing his arms as he addressed the eight other pirates on board. "Since the boy's cabin has mysteriously flooded, and we don't have enough beds to stay on the Sunny while we wait for the log-pose to set, I suggest that we stay in a hotel." he finished.

"Why can't you guys just sleep on deck?" asked Nami cold-heartedly.

"NANI?" Usopp shrieked, turning to face the red-head with a look of shock and disbelief.

"DON'T BE SO CRUEL, YOU WITCH!" yelled Zoro, furrowing his brow in annoyance.

"What did you call me?" she asked, a dark aura flowing around her as she slowly turned to the swordsman.

"Uh, um… N-nothing…" he muttered, avoiding her gaze that could peel paint.

"Fine. We'll stay in a hotel until the log-pose sets." Nami agreed, turning to face the others.

"How long until it does, Navigator-san?" queried Robin.

"Three days, so we'll stay there for two nights and leave on the third, before it gets dark." she answered.

"Sounds good to me!" exclaimed Franky. "That's just enough time to fix the leak." he grinned.

"Great! Let's go find a hotel then." smiled Chopper, walking over to the ladder. Nami, Usopp and Robin followed, as Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, Brook and Franky leaped over the side without effort.

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"Okay, so it seems that they have a four-room-maximum policy on this island. We're going to have to buddy up!" Franky jeered.

Usopp walked over to Sanji, who nodded in agreement, Chopper hopped over to Zoro, who grunted in indifference, and Brook walked over to Robin, who smiled at the skeleton. Seeing as there was no other choice, Nami reluctantly moved over to Luffy, who grinned widely at her.

"What about you, Franky?" asked Usopp, turning to the blue-haired man.

"Well, since having three to a room would be a tad too claustrophobic, I'll stay on the ship while I repair the damages. If you don't mind, could I sleep in your room, ladies?" he asked, turning to the two females, who nodded in response.

"Yohoho, let's go and check our rooms out." spoke Brook, walking over to the stairs.

Everyone else followed suit. Usopp spared a glance at Franky, who grinned at the sharpshooter. The long-nosed man returned the smile and continued walking.

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Nami walked into the room. It was a fair size, walls painted a light blue colour, carpet a creamy hue. On one side of the room was a door to a bathroom, equipped with a shower, toilet and sink. A large oak wardrobe was stationed on the right side of the door, fitting nicely into the corner. On the other side of the room was a hard, maple desk with a small book shelf built into the wall above. The room was considerably nice, but there was just one tiny, little problem.

"There's only one bed." Luffy stated the obvious, walking further into the room and landing softly on the mattress.

Nami faltered, staying by the entrance. Luffy noticed her rigid stature and raised an eyebrow.

"You okay, Nami?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and pouting slightly as he stared intensely at his navigator.

Blushing slightly under his gaze, Nami nodded quickly, turning to close the door. She walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down.

It was already getting quite late, and the crew had already eaten dinner before the flood had occurred. Yawning slightly, Nami blinked at her tiredness and lay down on one side.

Luffy, who was tired too, copied her by lying down on the opposite side, closing his eyes and falling asleep almost instantly.

Nami felt awkward. I mean, it wasn't _bad _sleeping in the same bed as Luffy. The boy emitted a comforting heat that helped her relax. Yet, she still felt awkward. She had this compelling feeling, telling her to snuggle into him. The strange thing was, she really wanted to. Luffy would find that weird though, right? Who wouldn't find that weird? Heck, _she _found it weird! Why did she even _want _to snuggle with him?!

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by Luffy's hand draping over her waist and pulling her closer. Gasping lightly, Nami moved her head to stare at the boy. His eyes were still closed.

'_He's sleeping…'_ she thought, bitterly. '_Although, this is comfortable._' she argued, smiling slightly. _'I guess if he doesn't mind, I don't mind either_…'

Luffy snored slightly, making Nami giggle. He was so cute when he wasn't stealing food or pissing her off. Not that she'd _ever _admit that to _anybody._

Reaching a hand up, Nami brushed some stray, black hair off of his forehead and rested it on his cheek for a moment. After a while, she moved her hand so it fit comfortably around his neck, and she feel into a peaceful slumber.

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Luffy woke up slowly. Remembering where he was, he looked down to find Nami there, cuddled into his chest, sleeping soundly. He realised that her arm was draped across him and was holding his neck. '_Huh. I don't remember any of this last night…'_ he thought to himself, slowly moving her arm back down to her side and slipping out of the bed.

Poking her head slightly, Nami stirred, grumbling something unrecognisable. Opening her eyes softly, she peered up at the rubber-man, who was grinning widely above her.

"What?" she asked.

"We need to go and have breakfast!" he stated, running excitedly to the door in search of Sanji for food.

Nami groaned as she got up. Thinking to herself, she assessed her sleep last night. Boy, did she sleep well. She smiled warmly, remembering Luffy pulling her closer. _'I'm gonna miss that when we're back on the ship…'_ she thought, sadly. She then mentally slapped herself.

What was she talking about? She was going to miss having Luffy in the same bed as her at night? Why was she having these types of thoughts lately!? It seemed as though the only thing running through her mind these days was _Luffy_! Luffy, Luffy and more Luffy! The more she thought about it, the more she realised. Recently, all she wanted was to be near Luffy. She just wanted to stay with him all night, sit next to him at dinner, have him near her while she worked on her maps…

What was she doing!? She sounded like a love-sick puppy! Wait, what!? _Love-sick?!_

"Ughh!" Nami groaned, chucking a pillow to the ground in frustration.

'_I don't want to think about this right now.'_

Standing up and getting dressed, Nami made her way down to the lobby to meet up with the other strawhats.

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"So," asked Nami, "how are the repairs going?"

Franky looked up from his food and smiled.

"I should be finished by tomorrow afternoon." he replied, looking down at his plate in surprise to find his drumstick gone. Glaring, Franky looked over to Luffy, who was happily stealing people's dinner.

He then noticed how Luffy would always leave Nami's plate untouched. Shedding a few 'manly' tears, he began to eat the remains of his meal.

"Why are you crying, Franky?" asked a concerned Usopp.

"ARE YOU SICK?" cried Chopper, a terrified expression dawning his features.

"No, I'm fine," he smiled. Leaning over to Usopp, he whispered in his ear. "Remember to ask Luffy…" he grinned.

Usopp nodded slightly in return, grinning back. Soon, everyone was talking happily, Brook telling infinite skull jokes, Zoro slapping Luffy's hand away from his food in irritation, and Robin giggling at something Chopper said.

"So, Luffy…" began Usopp, turning to face the captain, who was right in the middle of taking a potato from Robin's plate.

Letting go of the food, Luffy smiled at the sharpshooter.

"Yup?" he asked.

"I was just wondering how you slept." he smiled, grinning wider at Nami's reaction to this.

"Oh, I slept great! Shishishi!"

Usopp smiled, turning his head to Nami, who was glaring slightly back at him, arms crossed.

"And how did you sleep, Nami?"

"Fine." she muttered, narrowing her eyes further.

"Huh? Just fine?" cried Luffy, slightly upset at her answer.

Everyone turned to look at Luffy. Zoro's eyes were slightly wide, Sanji was biting down on his napkin in an attempt to calm himself, Robin smiled slightly, Usopp grinned along with Franky and Brook, and Chopper just looked confused. Nami, on the other hand, was blushing slightly.

"W-what?" she stuttered, shifting in her seat uncomfortably at the silence.

Luffy stared at her for a while before shrugging and turning back to his food, acting as if nothing happened.

An awkward atmosphere crept into the room as everyone resumed in eating. After his outburst, Luffy had stopped taking other people's food and was only eating from his plate, much to everyone's satisfaction.

'_What was that?' _thought Usopp, sparing a glance at the rubber-man, before returning to his beans.

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"Hey, Luffy…"

"Hmm?"

"What was that all about?"

Luffy looked over to the orange-haired girl next to him. Shuffling to get into a more comfortable spot on the bed, he placed his hands behind his head for support.

"Whad'ya mean?" he asked, brow furrowing in confusion.

"At dinner," she stated, and seeing his still perplexed expression, she then added "your sudden outburst?"

Realising what she was saying, he chuckled softly and looked up, staring at the ceiling.

"Laughing is _not_ an answer!" scolded Nami, annoyance clear in her voice.

He then turned to her with a sweet smile placed on his lips. Nami was taken aback by this, but continued to stare back, awaiting a proper response.

"I dunno." he stated, simply.

"What do you mean, you don't know?!" she scowled.

"When you said that you just slept 'fine', it made me feel sad for some reason." he grinned. "Dunno why, though…"

Nami frowned slightly. "…Sorry." she whispered, catching the attention of the boy next to her.

"Don't say sorry, Nami! It's not your fault." he assured, grinning widely.

"…I slept great." she whispered again, far quieter than her apology.

At this, Luffy grinned wider and brought her into a hug. Blushing, as she had not expected him to do that, Nami hugged him back quickly.

"…What was that for?" she asked, smiling slightly as she stared into his onyx eyes.

"Dunno! What you said just made me happy." he grinned, causing their noses to rub together slightly.

Realising their position, Nami blushed furiously, turning all-too-quickly and closed her eyes, muttering "Night…" as she fell asleep.

Chuckling slightly at how she reacted, Luffy closed his eyes, too. Putting his arm around her waist, he snuggled into her neck.

He liked sleeping with Nami. She was warm and she smelled nice. He felt comfortable like this.

"G'night, Nami."


	6. Chapter Six: Brook's Plan

**Usopp's master plan of love!**

The Sunny was fully fixed, thanks to Franky's amazing ship wright skills, and the strawhat pirates were now heading off to the next island. Usopp was fishing with Luffy on the side of the ship happily, Zoro was picking yet another fight with a pissed Sanji, and the shipwright was down in his quarters working on new cola-powered devices. Nami and Robin were bathing in the sun's warmth, the latter reading a book to pass the time. Chopper was happily laughing along with Brook as he told his umpteenth skull joke.

"WHAT WAS THAT, MOSSHEAD?" screamed the cook, glaring at the katana-wielding man.

"YOU HEARD WHAT I SAID," he began, grinning widely as he dared to continue. "YOU DREW YOUR EYEBROW A LITTLE TOO CLOSE TO THE LEFT, PRINCESS!" Zoro laughed, being caught off guard by a pouncing Sanji.

As the two began to brawl again, Usopp looked over to Robin. Winking, Robin stood up and excused herself from Nami, heading down to get Franky. Seeing this, Chopper and Brook slowly made their way up to the crow's nest, followed by Zoro, who quickly hit Sanji with the bottom of his katana, effectively knocking him out, and lifted him across his shoulder.

Usopp stood, waved good-bye to Luffy, and followed, too.

"Where's everyone going?" muttered Nami, giving a convicting frown, due to the fact that she thought something was happening behind her back.

Scanning the deck, she was surprised to see Luffy sitting quietly, fishing away, not noticing the departure of nearly everyone in the crew.

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"Man, I wish we could have seen what happened at the hotel!" pouted Usopp, crossing his arms dejectedly.

"Well, I made sure they got the room with one bed, so something must have happened!" grinned Franky, happy at how full-proof his plan was. The cyborg went to stand next to Brook, who laughed quietly.

"So, whose turn is it next?" asked Chopper, looking up at a smiling Robin who stood next to him.

"I believe that would be Skeleton-san." she answered, looking over to the man in question.

"What's your plan?" asked Usopp. Sanji merely sulked in the corner of the room, staying silent.

"Yohoho~" mused a delighted Brook, turning to face the people in the room. "Well, first I shall ask Nami-san to show me her pa-"

Brook was quickly hit on the head by a furious Sanji.

"STOP JOKING AROUND AND THINK OF A REAL PLAN, ALREADY!" he growled.

Usopp, Zoro, Franky and Chopper looked from Sanji, to Brook, and then back to Sanji, mouths open slightly. Noticing their amazed stares, Sanji quickly turned back to the refuge of his corner, mumbling something along the lines of "Nami-swan's mine…"

"W-well, anyway…" began a taken aback Usopp, still sparing glances at the newly depressed cook. "What's your _real_ plan?"

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"A party?" questioned Nami, giving a sceptical look to the bony man. "What's the occasion?"

"Yohoho, to celebrate our friendship, of course!" sang Brook looking back at the orange-haired girl. "It's a party to honour how our hearts beat as one! That is, if I had a heart! SKULL JOKE!" he laughed, turning to talk to the others on deck.

Nami frowned slightly. Something was up, and she knew it. And although she couldn't fit _all_ the pieces together quite yet, she had a strange intuition that told her Usopp was in the middle of this. What was he planning?

A sudden smirk landed on her features as she made her way over to the crowd around Brook. Acting cool would be the best way to survey whatever was happening, so for now, she joined in on the talk of supplies for the upcoming shindig.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooo

The party was in full swing. Sanji had prepared tons of food for it, much to Usopp's surprise. Zoro was battling Nami in another drinking contest, and to put it lightly, failing miserably. Luffy was partying around the deck with Chopper and the sharpshooter, while Robin stood at the side with a cocktail in hand, smiling at the scene before her. Franky was dancing passionately to Brook's music.

Unable to take another sip, Zoro grunted loudly as he went to go take a nap. Nami grinned widely as she quickly calculated the added debt to the green-haired man's tab, walking over to Robin.

"Are you having fun, Navigator-san?" she asked, smiling at the younger woman.

"Definitely! That's another 20,000 beli…" she grinned widely, laying against the side of the ship. The amount she drank would make any normal person pass out, yet she was border line sober, which added to her list of pros.

"That's good," Robin smiled, taking another sip of her beverage. "I think we are being summoned to the middle of the deck." she noted, walking over to where a smiling Brook was playing. Nami followed suit, as well as the rest of the crew.

"Yohoho! It's time to grab a partner and dance!" the skeleton beamed, resting the violin under his chin (no skull-joke intended) and beginning to play a cheery round of Bink's Sake.

Surprisingly, the first to move was Luffy, who instantly walked to Nami's side, grinning widely at her. Nami smiled back shyly, a small hue of pink adorning her face, which luckily went unnoticed. Sanji ran at full speed to Robin, only to be stopped by a fluffy Chopper, who Robin kindly took the offering hand of. Usopp decided to dance with Franky, and Zoro still lay fast asleep. A depressed Sanji shuffled to the nearest corner he could find.

As everyone began dancing, Luffy took both of Nami's hands in his and grinned widely. The upbeat melody of Bink's Sake hummed through the deck, causing the boy to laugh as he began to spin the girl around. Easing up, Nami returned the mirth as they began dancing in time.

Robin and Chopper danced quietly, grinning back at the captain and navigator who were now nearing the middle of the deck. Usopp, who gave up on trying to keep up with Franky's feet, grinned at Brook, giving a thumbs up as he went to sit down next to the now awake Zoro.

"They look happy." the green-haired man stated, an indifferent expression staying in place as he sat up and crossed his legs.

"Yep," grinned Usopp. "Brook's about to start the slow song now."

At that very moment, the skeleton's bow slowed down, changing gradually into a new melody. Noticing the sudden change in speed, Nami cast a look at Brook, who grinned back widely.

Nami's heart thumped as she felt Luffy pull her closer into his chest, arms carefully around her waist. Looking up into his face, she could see that his grin was still in place, yet this one was slightly different. This one was smaller, warmer. As if she were in a trance, Nami snaked her arms around his neck, causing him to grin just the little but wider.

'_So much for keeping cool…_' she thought to herself. Why did Luffy always seem to have this effect on her and no one else?

Chopper and Robin slowly moved over to Usopp, followed closely by a crying Franky, who blamed his tears on the romantic feelings emanating from the two who were still dancing. Usopp merely smiled warmly.

Look how happy they were together! He couldn't _believe _Nami could have these kinds of feelings towards anything but money, yet there she was, cuddling closely into Luffy's chest, cheeks burning an unhealthy colour, but nonetheless smiling softly. Luffy, on the other hand, was grinning widely as he held onto the girl. If anything, this was how Luffy always was. Grinning widely, being happy. Those were all Luffy traits, yet something else was glinting in his eyes, and Usopp knew that look all too well.

The sharpshooter sighed as he began to reminisce about Kaya. How was she doing, he wondered? How soon would he be able to see her again? He couldn't _wait _to tell her the successful and _true_ story of how he got two people together! Then, he realised. There was still work to do. All that was left was his plan. The final push. He couldn't give up now! They were so close!

The music slowly came to an end, drifting away in the cold night's breeze. Nami wasn't cold, though. Luffy was still holding her, both swaying slightly to the sound of the waves, using it as their new found melody.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooo

"Oi, Luffy." began Usopp, looking over to his dark-haired best friend. The two were sitting alone on deck, looking up at the stars as the clear night pulled over.

"Yup?" Luffy responded, also looking over to the sharpshooter.

"I was just wondering if you had fun at the party." he asked.

"Of course! Shishishi!" Luffy laughed, pushing his strawhat off of his head and letting it dangle from his neck.

Usopp was struggling. I mean, Luffy was easy to talk to. It was as simple to engage in a conversation with him as _he _was. Despite all this, Usopp was having problems forming his _real_ question into words. He didn't want to give any suspicious vibes off. Usopp then mentally slapped himself. This was _Luffy _he was talking about! He doesn't even know how to _spell _suspicious!

'_I'll just come out and say it…'_

"Do you love Nami?"

The question caught Luffy off guard, causing him to stop laughing and give the long-nosed man an unreadable expression.

They sat there in silence until Luffy spoke.

"…What?" he asked, checking if he heard right.

"Do you love Nami?" Usopp asked again, turning his whole body to see the boy better in the growing darkness.

"…Of course I do."

Usopp grinned widely, only to stop and give Luffy a serious stare.

"Do you know in which way I'm asking?"

The boy stayed silent for a while, still staring back at the curly haired sharpshooter, before nodding his head.

"Good." muttered Usopp, smiling warmly as he turned his attention back to the starry sky.

Now curious, Luffy frowned at the other boy. "Why do you ask?"

Usopp laughed at this question, causing the rubber-boy to raise a confused brow.

"Just wondering, that's all!" he assured, waving a hand in the air as if to ward off the query.

"…Have you told her?"

"Nope!" Luffy grinned, causing Usopp to sweat drop.

"Why not!?"

"She never asked!" he defended, resting his arms behind his back in support as he stretched his legs out.

"She shouldn't _have _to ask, baka!"

"Why not? _You _did…"

Usopp face palmed, slightly irritated at the boy next to him. Seriously! Such a _Luffy _thing to say!

"What? Are you_ afraid _to tell her or something?" the long nosed boy taunted, grinning slightly at his friend's reaction.

"No!" Luffy pouted, crossing his arms and turning his head away.

"Then why haven't you told her?"

"Just haven't." he argued, frowning slightly.

Usopp frowned. Luffy seemed reluctant to tell him anything more, and he wasn't going to push any unnecessary buttons.

"We should go to bed." smiled Usopp, sympathetically. _The guy must be afraid of rejection, or something…_

"You go ahead, I'm gonna stay here for a while."

Usopp turned back to Luffy, noticing the boy's expression.

'_Don't think too hard, Luffy…'_ he thought, grinning as he made his way to the boy's cabin with a wave of his hand. '_I don't think you were built for thinking…'_


	7. Chapter Seven: Usopp's Plan PT1

**A/N: Well, here it is! The ****second to last**** chapter! *pouts* Sorry I haven't updated in like a week. I had school. That shit is mentally **_**and**_** physically draining… I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I have writing it! I assure I shall be writing a ton more LuNa stories. :D Please R&R.  
**

**Usopp's master plan of love!**

Usopp sat on the deck, eyes set firmly on his captain. He smiled slightly. The meat-loving boy sat on the side of the Sunny, a strained look adorning his features. One elbow was placed on his thigh, fist under his chin, supporting it.

Most people wouldn't find this very interesting. This was just Luffy when he wasn't a flying ball of rubber energy. There was one thing that was out of character, though.

He was sighing. Every single minute, -after what Usopp could only guess as a painful moment of thinking-, the boy would sigh and groan, deflating more and more into the ship's side.

Usopp wasn't any type of sadist. He would go straight up to the boy to ask him what was wrong… if he didn't already know, that is. Yep, it seems that their little talk last night got the rubber-boy into a slump.

Even though other people didn't really notice, (that, or they were celebrating the fact that), Luffy was eating less at meal times. Any stray moment he could get in the day to stare at Nami, he would kindly use. The sharpshooter was pretty sure he wasn't even sleeping at night.

Why wasn't Usopp doing anything, you ask? Oh, he was. Slowly but surely, he was edging the captain and navigator closer together, along with the help of the other strawhats –save for Sanji-.

Now, it was the ultimate plan. The master of love, Usopp's plan.

Grinning widely, he set off to find his accomplices.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooo

Everyone needed was in the crow's nest. Brook and Franky were standing in silence, anticipating what the sharpshooter was about to say. Chopper once again rested on the long-nosed man's shoulder, looking around the room anxiously. Robin stood next to an amused Zoro. Sanji was sitting on the floor next to the green-haired man, rocking back and forth as tears forced their way down the cook's face.

Usopp was smiling around the room, patting Chopper affectionately on the head. The silence was broken as he began to speak.

"Okay guys, this is the last plan," he began, causing Sanji to weep more, much to Zoro's pleasure. "And since I _am _the master of love, this was easy to think of! Why, I just thought of it this second!" he grinned, causing Chopper to let out an excited squeal.

Franky and Brook merely sweat dropped.

"So, what's the plan then, _master?_" Zoro mocked, causing Robin to giggle slightly before composing herself.

Usopp frowned towards the insult. "What is my plan, you ask?" he triumphantly smiled, puffing his chest out for emphasis. "We get Luffy to confess!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooo

Nami sat out on deck, eyes scanning a new book as she enjoyed the peace and quiet. It was weird. Ever since the morning, all of her fellow nakama had vanished. Well, except for Luffy, that is. The navigator loved them all dearly, don't get her wrong, but the peace was such a rare thing to come across when you were part of the strawhat crew, she honestly didn't care if they were thrown off the ship at some point.

Her eyes looked up to spot her captain. She sighed. The boy hadn't moved an inch since she came on deck. Gaze set firmly to the sea, Luffy was almost in another world.

The one thing that was unnerving, though, was that he was constantly sighing and groaning. It was like he was having a war with himself.

Nami knew how it felt to battle your mind. When she was still trapped in Arlong's grasp, she used to argue to herself about whether she was really doing the right thing. Whether working for him to save her village was what her friends and family really wanted her to be doing.

Sighing at the sour memories, Nami rested her eyes once again on the rubber-boy. Whenever she was battling inside her mind, it always helped to speak out loud about it. Not that she had anyone to vent her feelings too, but hey, it sure did help to just come to terms with your worries instead of keeping them locked up in your brain.

Ignoring the obvious joke she could have made about Luffy and his brain, Nami stood up and made her way over to him.

_**Meanwhile…**_

"Yes, it's working! She's going up to him!" whispered Usopp, grinning widely as Chopper quietly cheered. Brook laughed slightly along with Franky as Robin sat next to Zoro, smiling sweetly. The green-haired man was still highly entertained by the ever-moping Sanji, who was now silently weeping onto the deck floor.

"Ne, Usopp? Why do we have to hide in this bush?" asked a confused Chopper.

"Because if Nami finds out that we're watching her we will all die a slow and painful death." stated the sharpshooter, matter-of-factly.

Zoro, Brook and Franky all agreed with a nod of their heads and an exasperated expression adorning their features.

_**On deck…**_

"Luffy?"

Startled at the sudden break of silence, the boy in question turned around to face the source of the noise. Seeing that it was Nami, he smiled slightly before turning back to the ocean.

"Yup?" he asked, not looking at her.

Nami frowned and hit him swiftly on the head. "Look at people when they're talking to you, baka!"

"OW, NAMI! THAT HURT!"

Luffy pouted towards the navigator, rubbing the sore spot that was growing ever so slowly.

"What are you being all serious for?" she asked, dismissing his frown as she rest against the side.

"Huh?" he asked, bewildered.

"You haven't moved all day, baka!" she glared, annoyed at his dim-wittedness.

"Oh, I haven't?"

The boy merely shrugged and gave a sullen look, sighing once again.

"See! Right there! Why are you sighing so much today?"

Luffy looked over to her before frowning and turning away, head resting in one hand. "Because of you."

Nami looked slightly taken aback. What did she do? Is it because she hit him yesterday? To be fair, that was only because he somehow managed to throw himself over board and since Zoro was sleeping in the crow's nest, she had to go all the way up to wake him. She would have just gone and saved Luffy herself, but she was wearing a brand new outfit. She was _not _about to go diving for idiots.

"What did I do?" she asked, returning the frown. An awkward silence passed between the two as Luffy ignored her question, seemingly lost in thought once again.

Nami growled as she made her way back over to her seat and roughly grabbed her book, angrily reading the contents from where she left off.

_**In the bushes…**_

"What the-?" murmured Franky, contemplating what just happened.

Zoro mentally face palmed at the captain. Ignoring Nami's questions was a bad idea.

Robin frowned slightly at the bathos of the situation, standing up to go to the kitchen. Brook followed her, as well as a slightly less depressed Sanji. Chopper pouted, head down in depression. Usopp had a moue expression, thinking of another way to get the rubber-boy to confess.

'_Man,'_ he whined to himself. _'This is going to be harder than I thought…'_

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooo

It was another sunny day. The wind was calm, barely any clouds in the sky. Overall, a beautiful day to be out on deck.

Well, the weather didn't really seem to matter to Luffy. He was out on the Sunny's head 24/7 lately. The boy didn't even come to eat much anymore. Sanji would always bring out a meat-filled plate for him though, and when the cook returned it would always be empty.

Luffy was merely thinking. Some people would find this absurd. Why would it take days just to _think?_ Well, Luffy wasn't really a 'thinking' kind of person. He was more of a 'doing' kind of guy, jumping head first into anything that could be remotely interesting. So why was he spending so much time _thinking?_

That answer was simple. _Nami._

The dark-haired boy sighed. Huh, he seemed to be doing that a lot nowadays. Same with thinking. Thinking was hard! Normally he would just be sleeping or eating… or _anything_ else for that matter. Yet, whenever he tried to occupy himself, his thoughts always found their way back to the navigator.

He didn't really know when it started.

Maybe it was just during their journey together?

Luffy frowned slightly.

'_Nope, definitely before that.'_

Was it when she asked for his help against Arlong? The way she looked at him, tears falling down her face, features twisted in grief… it physically hurt him to see her in that state.

Or maybe it was that _love at first sight _thing that Sanji always talked about…

Luffy groaned loudly, clutching his head dramatically.

'_THINKING IS HARD!'_

Why was he even thinking so much about this? He knew he loved Nami. More than anything. He already knew that! So, why was she in his mind night and day?!

He really didn't understand. What more was there to think about?

"Oi, Luffy?"

The sound of Usopp pulled the boy in question out of his thoughts. Turning around to face the sharpshooter, Luffy gave a small smile.

"Aa?"

The long-nosed man gave a bemused expression towards his captain, confused at the boy's sudden change in behaviour. He honestly didn't believe that Luffy would talk to him _that _easily.

"Do you know what's with Nami?" he asked, tilting his head slightly in confusion. "She seems annoyed for some reason…"

Luffy merely shrugged and turned back to the sea. "Dunno."

Usopp furrowed his brow at the boy. Leaning his back against the ship's side, the sharpshooter questioned again.

"Do you think it was anything to do with you?"

Luffy stiffened at this, abruptly turning to face the curly-haired man. Absent-mindedly repositioning his hat firmly on his head, the captain pouted.

Usopp chuckled slightly at this. "I'll take that as a yes?"

"Dunno." the rubber-boy repeated, yawning as he stretched his arms above his head, returning them back to his side shortly after.

"Well, did you say anything to her that could make her so mad?" he questioned, somehow managing to lie effectively. He knew all too well what the idiot said to make her so angry.

Luffy didn't reply.

"Luffy?"

The meat-loving boy still stayed silent, eyes concealed under his hat, obscuring his expression from view.

"Have you been thinking about Nami these past few days?"

At this interrogation, Luffy jumped slightly, lifting a finger to move his hat out of his eye sight.

"Yes." he replied, simply. "How'd ya know?"

"Just a hunch." he shrugged. "Why're you thinking so much, anyway? Even if it's about Nami…"

Luffy frowned harder, turning fully to face the long-nosed man. "That's the thing! I don't _know _why!"

Usopp raised a brow, staring disbelievingly at the boy in front of him. "You… You don't _know_ why you're thinking about her so much?" he asked, as if he wasn't sure he heard him right.

The captain nodded stiffly, looking intensely into Usopp's face. "Why am I?"

"…Why are you?"

"Yeah! Why _am_ I thinking about Nami so much lately?!"

"Because you love her?" Usopp tried. Well, this was going to be an awkward conversation.

"I know that!" he frowned, crossing his arms in exasperation.

Seeing that the statement seemed to bother the boy, Usopp decided to pry.

"If you know that, why have you been acting so abnormally?"

"I dunno!"

"…Are you upset _because _you love her?"

Luffy frowned harshly, vigorously shaking his head from side to side.

"No. I know that I'm happy I love her… but when I say that, I get sad for some reason…"

Usopp stared at Luffy. Then, realisation dawned on his features, causing him to grin widely.

"Ah, I get it…" he chuckled, causing Luffy to turn to him immediately.

"You do!? Tell me!" he pried, jumping off Sunny's head and gripping Usopp's shoulders, shaking him eagerly.

"You want her to love you back."

"…I do?"

Usopp nodded, grin still in place as he shook the boy's hands from his shoulders.

Then, for what seemed like the first time in forever, Luffy gave a whole-hearted laugh. "Oh yeah! I do!" he agreed.

Usopp sweat dropped at the captain's simple mindedness. Why didn't he just realise that on his own?

"Well, if that's all you need, I'm gonna go find Franky and help him with some new ship modifications."

Usopp started to walk away, only to be stopped by a hand on his arm, halting him.

"Wait!" frowned Luffy, confusion splashed onto his face.

"What?" questioned Usopp. Did he really need to explain _more?_ He was a _guy_ for-god's-sake. He was sure Luffy wasn't one to talk endlessly about his feelings.

"What do I do now?"

Usopp blinked, followed by a large smile. _'Maybe getting him to confess won't be so hard after all…'_

"Tell her!"

"Tell who, what?"

Usopp face-palmed. _'Seriously?'_

"Tell _Nami_ that you _love_ her, baka!"

"Oh, okay."

And at that, Usopp went to find Franky, while a grinning Luffy headed off the deck in search of his navigator.


	8. Chapter Eight: Usopp's Plan PT2

**A/N- **_**Sorry for the late update! It's here now though! One more chapter to go until the end, which I am pretty sure I shall be writing tomorrow evening. **____** Thanks for all the lovely reviews you guys leave me! Be sure to check out my tumblr (link in my bio) for updates on stories and other things!**_

**Usopp's master plan of love!**

"It was supposed to be easy!" groaned an exasperated Usopp. The sharpshooter grasped the wall dramatically as he slumped to the floor in a pathetic heap.

"We're just not having good luck with this, are we?" whined Chopper, copying Usopp's position.

"First Franky decides to walk in and ruin the moment…" Usopp muttered, letting go of the ship's side as he changed into a cross-legged position.

"Hey!" growled the cyborg, "I didn't _decide _to walk in! It was just bad timing!" he protested.

"As if," frowned Usopp, "you _want _us to fail! CAPTAIN USOPP SHALL NOT LET A TRAITOR WALK OUR SHIP!"

"I don't want us to fail! You must have something wrong with your head!" exclaimed Franky, raising his large arm for emphasis. "This is how it happened…"

_**Earlier that same day…**_

"_**Oi, Nami!"**_

_**Usopp perked at the sound of his captain's voice travelling from the deck. Seeing the sharpshooter's reaction, Chopper looked up from his work and made his way to the door. Usopp followed to where they found Nami resting in her seat and Luffy hovering over her.**_

"_**Yes Luffy?" she asked, placing a delicate finger on the rim of her sunglasses to look the boy in the eye.**_

_**Chopper and Usopp nodded to each other, deciding to quietly hide behind a conveniently placed tree.**_

"_**I have something to tell you." declared the ebony haired boy, a goofy smile tracing his features.**_

_**Nami placed her book down beside her, giving the boy her full attention. "Go ahead."**_

"_**He's gonna say it!" cried Usopp, clapping his hands together in delight.**_

_**Chopper cheered quietly as they both hugged each other in accomplishment.**_

"_**I lo-"**_

_**Just at that moment, Franky barged through the kitchen door.**_

"_**Hey, have you guys… seen… um…" he began.**_

_**Usopp face palmed.**_

_**Chopper deflated.**_

_**Nami stared.**_

_**Luffy stared.**_

"…_**Sorry, did I… um… interrupt something?"**_

"Either way, you still completely ruined the moment!" cried Usopp.

"Hey, that wasn't the only bad timing there was today. Stop blaming it all on me!" shouted Franky, crossing his arms as he frowned towards the long-nosed man.

"Would you guys _please_ just shut up already?" groaned Zoro, "I'm trying to sleep here."

"Oh yes," began Brook, "Zoro-kun also ruined another moment, if I remember correctly."

"What? No I didn't." growled Zoro, head resting against one of the seats of the crow's nest.

"Sorry swordsman-kun," smiled Robin, "but I believe you did."

_**About three hours ago…**_

"_**Where is Chopper?" muttered Nami, bending down slightly to check under the seats of the crow's nest. Sighing, Nami ran a hand through her hair as she stood up straight and began to walk to the stairs.**_

"_**Oi, Nami!" cried Luffy, causing Nami to scream and lose her footing. Falling backwards, Luffy caught her from behind and began to laugh.**_

"_**You're so clumsy."**_

_**A swift chop to the head caused him to shut up.**_

"_**What do you want?" she growled, freeing herself from his grasp and crossing her arms, brows creased in slight anger.**_

"_**I still have to tell you something!" he grinned, ignoring her dark aura.**_

"_**Okay," she began, uncrossing her arms, "tell me."**_

"_**Nami, I lov-"**_

"_**Wait, this isn't the kitchen." groaned Zoro, causing both Nami and Luffy to look at him. Noticing their presence, Zoro mentally slapped himself. "Um, don't mind me. Carry on, I'll just shout an insult at the Ero-cook and follow his annoying voice."**_

_**Hearing the word 'kitchen', Luffy smiled widely.**_

"_**IS LUNCH READY!? FOOD, FOOD, FOOD, FOOD!"**_

"Oh yeah…" murmured Zoro, scratching his head in recognition.

"And then it was Sanji…" frowned Chopper.

_**Just after lunch…**_

_**The only two who were left in the dining room after lunch were Nami and Luffy. The captain was vacuuming up any remnants of food he came across, while Nami fiddled with the table, thinking about the day so far.**_

'**What does Luffy want to tell me?'**

"_**Nami!" cried the boy in question, causing the orange-haired girl to jump.**_

"_**What?" she asked, turning to the smiling boy.**_

"_**I just realised I still haven't told you!" he grinned, grabbing her hand.**_

_**Nami flinched, blushing slightly at the contact, still staring back at the boy.**_

"_**U-umm, okay. What is it?"**_

"_**I keep trying to say that I-"**_

"_**ROBIN-CHWAN! WHERE ARE YOU, MY SWEET, SWEET ANGEL?"**_

_**Sanji's voice beckoned throughout the dining room, causing Luffy to stop mid-sentence and Nami to frown profusely.**_

"_**Ah, Sanji?" asked Luffy, turning to the door with a loud grin. "CAN YOU MAKE ME FOOD? I'M HUNGRY!"**_

"_**You just ate, shit for brains." the blond haired man insulted, lighting yet another cigarette and placing it in his mouth.**_

_**Noticing Nami's hand in Luffy's, Sanji bit through it in anger.**_

"_**WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY NAMI-SWAN?"**_

"What a baka…" muttered Chopper, causing Usopp, Franky, Brook and Zoro to nod in agreement.

"Then again," began Brook, "I also have to take some of the blame at hand. I also interrupted them."

"That's because you couldn't help but watch them while they talked! I told you not to but you didn't listen." cried Usopp, frowning widely at the skeleton.

"I am very sorry." apologised Brook, "I just couldn't help myself."

_**Around two hours ago…**_

"_**Luffy's trying to say it again!" grinned Usopp, hugging Chopper gleefully as they span around the aquarium bar.**_

"_**Really? I believe I shall go and watch to make sure no one interrupts this time." announced Brook, turning to the door.**_

"_**Wait, no! I don't think that's such a good idea." warned Usopp, holding his hand up in protest.**_

"_**I promise that I will not disrupt their conversation." Brook smiled, walking out onto deck.**_

_**Hiding behind a bush nearer the edge of the deck, Brook silently watched the two talk.**_

"_**Ne, Luffy." began Nami. She turned to face him. Luffy, who was sitting across from her looked at the cartographer and grinned.**_

"_**Yep?" he asked, holding his hat firmly on his head as a strong wind blew.**_

"_**What's that thing that you keep trying to tell me?"**_

"_**Oh, yeah!" he laughed.**_

"_**Okay, I'm listening." replied Nami, quickly scanning her eyes around the perimeter to check for any interruptions.**_

"_**I WISH I HAD EARS TO LISTEN WITH! YOHOHOHO!"**_

_**Okay, maybe she didn't look hard enough.**_

"_**SKULL JOKE!"**_

_**But she'd sure as Hell **_**hit **_**that bag of bones hard enough.**_

"It was a class A skull joke." protested Brook, grabbing his cup of tea from the side and holding it to his mouth-err-jaw.

"You still ruined the moment. I told you it was a bad idea to watch them!" whined Usopp, causing Chopper to nod angrily towards the skeleton.

"I believe I ruined it too, sniper-san."

Everyone in the area turned to Nico Robin, who was sitting comfortably by Zoro, a delicate arm draped across her thigh. One leg resting on top of the other, the girl smiled apologetically towards Usopp.

"You as well?!"

_**Several minutes ago…**_

_**Nami was in the library. Sitting by her wooden desk, the orange-haired girl sketched out maps for a good few hours before letting out a long kept in sigh, swiping an arm against her partially sweaty forehead. Standing up carefully, Nami lay her last map down on top of the mahogany and shuffled over to the door.**_

_**Upon opening said door, she realised quickly that it was being blocked by something.**_

"_**Nami!"**_

_**Ah, Luffy. What a surprise!**_

"_**Yes?" she asked, quietly crossing her arms and staring back at the boy in front of her.**_

"_**We keep getting interrupted!" he frowned, passing her and sitting in the newly vacant chair by her finished work.**_

_**Flinching slightly at the fact that the most reckless person on the ship was stationed so close to her prized possessions, Nami followed the boy in.**_

"_**You just noticed that now?" she asked, arching an eyebrow as she sat opposite him.**_

"_**Yeah! Shishishi."**_

_**Luffy grinned happily. Casting a quick glance around the perimeter, he sighed, turning back to Nami.**_

"_**Yosh! I'll tell you now!"**_

_**As soon as he had finished speaking, Luffy grabbed one of Nami's hands and held it in his own, beaming as always.**_

_**Nami started, puzzled by the random contact. Cheeks an unhealthy shade of pink, she looked back up at him, giving a questioning look.**_

"_**Nami, I've been trying to tell you for **_**ages!**_**" he whined, raising both their hands up for emphasis. "First Franky, then Zoro, then Sanji… Oh yeah, and Brook too!" he frowned, causing Nami to giggle at the cute face he was making.**_

"_**So what was it you've been trying to tell me?" she asked, smiling slightly as the boy stared back with his signature owlish like eyes.**_

"_**Right! Usopp's told me to tell you this since it was bugging me for so long-"**_

"_**Wait, Usopp told you to?"**_

"_**Yeah!"**_

"_**What did he want you to tell me?"**_

"_**He wanted me to tell you that I- Oh, hey Robin!"**_

_**Nami froze. She turned her head to where Luffy was looking, unsurprised to find none other than Nico Robin calmly sitting in a lounging chair, tea cup in hand as she flipped through the pages of yet another book.**_

_**Looking up from her current interest, Robin smiled sweetly at the two.**_

"_**Good afternoon captain-san. You too, navigator-san."**_

_**Looking back, Nami realised that Luffy still had hold of her right hand. Yelping, she pulled it back and ran out the room, covering her darkening complexion, not saying another word.**_

"So that's five people who have ruined moments…" groaned Usopp, pulling an ungraceful hand down his face in annoyance.

"I haven't ruined a moment!" grinned Chopper, jumping up and down slightly as he made his way over to the long-nosed man.

"Yeah, you're good Chopper. Unlike _some _people." he muttered, frown in place.

"HEY! What're you looking at me specifically for?" yelled Zoro, eyebrows creased in annoyance.

"If _you _didn't get lost on your OWN ship they would be together by now!"

"WHAT? If _Curly Brow _over here didn't go walking around the decks like a love-sick puppy, they wouldn't have been interrupted in the kitchen!"

"Oi, don't bring me into this, _Marimo._"

"Yohoho, I would join the fight as well… If I had the _balls _to!"

Usopp face palmed. "Okay, so we all agree this is completely Zoro's fault right?"

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"Luffy?"

"Over here."

It was evening on the Thousand Sunny. The sea grew a darker shade of blue, rocking slightly against the sides of the ship. A cloudless night showcased a beautiful starry night, clear and silent as the captain of the vessel rested on top of the Lion's head. Wind blowing slightly, Luffy had to hold his hat down firmly with one of his hands as the other traced imagined shapes on the animal's material.

Nami walked over to him, squinting slightly in the growing darkness to confirm his silhouette. The boy reached a hand out, catching the navigator by surprise. Staring blankly at the offering for a few seconds, Nami took it and he pulled her up beside him.

"What're you doing up here? You're missing dinner."

"Thinking."

An unbelieving brow quirked up from the moment the sentence left his mouth.

"So you're telling me that you're missing _food _so you can _think?_"

"Yep."

"… Are you feeling okay?"

Nami raised a hand to Luffy's forehead checking for a fever playfully, causing him to pout.

"Stop that! I ain't sick."

She laughed.

Which caused Luffy to pout more.

Which made her laugh harder.

Which made him laugh too.

After their mirth was carried away by the cold evening air, Nami dropped her head onto Luffy's shoulder, causing him to flinch slightly.

Easing up, he then chuckled, closing his eyes and listened to the sound of the ocean.

"Ne, Luffy?"

"Aa?"

"What're you thinking about?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Yep."

Nami sighed, looking at the boy in the corner of her eyes.

"Is it about the thing that you keep trying to tell me?"

"Yep!"

"Why don't you just tell me now?"

"Because someone's gonna interrupt…" he frowned, grabbing his hat quickly as a forceful gust of wind flew past.

"What are the chances of that happening six times in a row?"

"…Fair enough."

"Go ahead, then." she smiled, lifting her head slightly to look him in the eyes.

"Shishishi, okay. Well, I keep trying to tell you! Nami, I lov-"

A loud crash sounded from behind them, and turning around warily, Nami found herself looking at a crumpled mess that seemed to consist of sharpshooter, which was being illuminated by the dim light of the full moon.

"…Sobby, Zowo."


	9. Chapter Nine: Sanji's Plan

_**A/N- AMAGAD. It's finished! UMPOL is finished! Bam! I hope you're happy with how everything turned out :) Thank you so much for all of the support you have given me! Please continue to read my other fanfics if you'd like :D **_

**Usopp's master plan of love!**

"Oi, Usopp!"

The sound of the captain's voice carried through the deck and over to the sharpshooter in question. Turning his head slightly, the long nosed man could make out a figure flying towards him at an intense speed.

_Oh crap._

The collision was quick enough; One second Usopp was tightening a bolt on his latest invention, the next he was nose first on the wood with an overly-hyper teen on his back. He pushed down with the palms of his hands to force the boy off of him. Noticing the struggle, Luffy hopped off the other male with ease.

Usually, the ebony-haired boy would be grinning like a complete fool, tracing around the perimeter of the deck with the reindeer/doctor of the ship, or begging Sanji for some more meat right after a meal, yet here he was, standing in front of his crewmate, complete with a look of distress and annoyance.

"What'dya want, Luffy?" Usopp whined, patting his nose delicately, an eye closed in pain.

The rubber-boy merely looked down to the floor, shuffling his feet nervously as he thought of what to say. Staying in silence for a few minutes, Usopp decided to poke around for an answer to his nearly-forgotten question.

"Luffy? Hello, anyone home?"

"Ah? Oh, right. Usopp!"

"Any particular reason you decided to pounce on me when my back was turned?"

"Yeah."

"…Well?"

"…Well, what?"

Usopp groaned, pulling a hand down his face in anguish.

"What did you come here to say, Luffy?"

"Hmm? Oh, right I remember now!"

"Well, that's just great."

"I keep getting interrupted!"

"Are we talking about you trying to confess to Nami?"

"Yeah, every time I try to tell her someone shows up in the middle of it and Nami gets all embarrassed and leaves soon after."

"I see."

"It's annoying! I've tried to tell her at least seven hundred times now."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating just a bit… But I once tried to tell someone something seven hundred and forty six times! Ah, yes. It was the summer of '69. I was just a young lad, wanting to make a difference in this cruel and unforgiving place we call our world…"

Getting bored pretty quickly, Luffy stretched over to the kitchen in search of food to pass the time until he could think of someone else to ask.

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"Usopp, could you come over here please?"

It was just after dinner, the temperature was dropping slightly, causing a refreshing breeze to pass every now and again. The sea was a dark shade of blue, lapping against the side of the Sunny in calm waves.

Leaning over the railing slightly, Nami turned to face the sharpshooter who had just walked on deck a few seconds before.

"What's up?" he asked, turning to make his way over.

The cartographer stayed quiet for a moment, closing her eyes as a gentle motion of wind played with her orange locks.

"…I need to talk to you about something."

Usopp raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Nami was a self-righteous, independent, care-free woman. If there was even the tiniest chance that she could get treasure, she would do everything in her power- and the crew's power- to make it hers. She was definitely a strong-willed woman, being able to go through such hardships and still come out on top as the loved navigator of the strawhat crew. Despite this, something in her tone made him think differently. She almost sounded… confused for once.

"What is it, Nami?"

Suddenly, her strong-willed look was back, eyebrows creasing in seriousness. She quickly but firmly grabbed the front of his overall and lifted him slightly off of the ground, eyes boring into his terrified ones.

"DON'T KILL ME! PLEASE, I'LL DO ANYTHING! PLE-"

"Oh, shut up Usopp." she scowled, still holding him up with as much power as she could muster and still, at the same time, not seem like she was struggling. "I just want you to understand this very clearly: Do _not_, and I mean _not_ tell _anyone _about this conversation. _EVER."_

Placing him down, Usopp gulped noisily, stepping back in apprehension but none-the-less listening to her.

"Okay, I understand."

"Good. It's about Luffy."

"Oh, really?" he asked, trying to sound surprised.

"Oh be quiet, I know what you've been doing."

"W-what? I haven't been doing anything!"

She glared at him intensely.

"IT WAS ALL BROOK'S IDEA."

"Don't blame this on Brook. He's not smart enough to come up with a plan like that."

"Oh, well thank you!"

"Anyway," she murmured, rolling her eyes as Usopp began to pose and smirk gloatingly, "Luffy's been trying to tell me something, and he told me that you said he should. Am I correct?"

"Yes."

"I thought so. Now, I suppose he's trying to tell me he loves me?"

Usopp paled. "How can you say that so nonchalantly?"

"-And he's tried many times, yet we keep getting interrupted."

"You ignored my question!"

"Should I just tell him?"

"…Tell him what?"

"That I love him too." Nami raised an eyebrow at the ridiculous question the boy asked.

"Wait, you do?"

"Yes."

"Yahoo!"

"Stop celebrating and answer my question."

"Wait! How did this happen? When did you realise you loved him? _Why _do you love him? What are you gonna do about Sanji when he finds out you feel the same way? Wh-"

_Whack._

"Oi! That hurt!" cried Usopp, rubbing his head as a large bump began to grow.

"You wanna know how?"

"Yeah!"

"…Okay, I guess I'll start from the beginning then." Nami sat down on the wooden deck, carving her fingernails into the elaborate creases of the material. Usopp followed suit, copying her position on the ground and placing his elbows on the sides of his thighs, cupping each side of his face as he waited for her to begin.

"As you know, I met Luffy quite a long time ago. I was stealing money from another band of pirates when they finally noticed what I was doing. Luckily for me, Luffy came flying in –literally from nowhere- and defeated them easily. He saved me and I was grateful, but as soon as I found out that he was a pirate I despised him.

"Arlong had such an effect on me. He took me in at a very young age after killing my mother. He forced me to make map after map, never letting me rest. If I made even the smallest error I would be punished severely. My hatred for him intoxicated my brain to make me believe that anything associated with him was bad: Namely pirates.

"After that, I tricked Luffy and brought him to Buggy. What I didn't know was that Buggy was worse than I thought. He locked Luffy in a cage and told me to light the fuse which would send a massive cannon ball his way. I couldn't do it, so when one of Buggy's crew grew bored of my procrastinating and lit the fuse himself, I stopped it with my bare hands.

"Then I promised to be in his crew. I promised him and I let him down by betraying him, taking his ship, leaving him without saying a word. Usually this would be normal for me, I would feel nothing for the crew I was with and therefore feel nothing about leaving with their treasure and bringing it back to Arlong in hopes that I could buy my island to free my friends and family. But there was something about Luffy, something that made my heart tear at the thought of leaving him and the rest of you. So when you guys came to get me, I secretly felt relieved.

"Arlong betrayed me, though. He told me that if I raised enough money, he would give me Cocoyashi village. That he wouldn't be able to cause anyone I knew anymore pain. But he lied, and it cut deep.

"Luffy then came back, even after me ordering him to leave. I guess he just broke down my walls. I caved. I needed him.

"And he helped me. He defeated Arlong; he destroyed the room I was forced to slave away in, along with my bad memories. He said I was his nakama… And I guess that's when I began to fall in love with him. It was when I knew that no matter what I did and no matter where I was, he would help me, he would believe in me and he would love me all the same."

Usopp smiled warmly at the vaguely familiar story. "I see."

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"Okay, right." muttered Usopp. The sharpshooter rubbed his chin in thought, elbow resting on the wooden railing of the Thousand Sunny.

"What are you thinking about, Usopp?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's just you Chopper."

The reindeer merely frowned at the man and hopped closer to him.

"Nami told me something quite interesting. I think this time we'll definitely be able to get them together."

"Really?" marvelled Chopper, dancing slightly with a look of glee spread across his face.

"Yep! Now, I'm gonna need everyone's help…" he began, eyebrows creasing in worry, "Maybe even Sanji's…"

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"Seriously?"

Zoro laughed loudly, clutching his knee to keep himself from folding over. "You really think that Swirly-brow over there will help you get them together?"

Franky chuckled loudly along with Brook. "Sorry, but it's just too funny!"

Robin, however, had a slight frown on her face. "My apologies, Sniper-san, but I have to agree with Zoro and Franky."

"…I'll do it."

"See?" laughed Zoro, now punching his seat in hopes to control his mirth, "He said he'd- wait, what?"

The room went silent as all eyes found their way to the blond man who was, at this point, leaning against the side of the crow's nest, cigarette in hand. His expression was hard to read, but the tone he used when repeating what he said assured everyone that it was not a joke.

"I said I'll help."

"You will?" cried Usopp, eyes open wide at the total change in character that Sanji was showing.

"Do you want me to or not?"

"Wha?- of course I do!"

"Then stop making me repeat myself."

Zoro murmured something incoherent, causing Sanji to give him a quick glance of annoyance.

Robin, as if for the first time ever, faltered in her omniscient stare, yet just for a brief moment. Instead, a slight look of confusion and shock showed, only to vanish before anyone could make a comment out of it.

Not that anyone was paying attention to the ebony-haired woman, anyways.

"W-well, that's great!" cheered Usopp, posing heroically as Chopper marvelled at him.

"What do I have to do?" Sanji asked, pushing himself from the room's wall and walking over to the sharpshooter.

"Well," muttered Usopp, lowering his face to the ground as he made invisible patterns with his foot, "I was kinda hoping that _you_ could help me with that…"

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"Are we all set?" asked Franky. The cyborg was positioned by the entrance to the kitchen, looking across the deck to an anxious looking Usopp.

"I dunno! Where's Sanji?" he asked, frowning slightly as he crossed his arms.

They had been waiting on deck for about half an hour now. Just after dinner, Sanji had told everyone, save for Nami and Luffy, that the plan was about to start and that they should all get into their respective places. Yet, he failed to mention what his plan actually was…

Zoro tapped his foot impatiently. "Tch, you'd think when that idiot was actually gonna do something helpful he would actually follow through."

"I HEARD THAT!"

The sound of Sanji's voice caught the attention of the six on deck. "Cook-san, is the plan ready?"

"YES, MY BEAUTIFUL ROBIN-CHWAN! EVEN THOUGH I'M ABOUT TO LOSE MY PRECIOUS NAMI-SWAN TO A BABBLING IDIOT, I WILL ALWAYS HAVE YOU, RIGHT?"

Zoro coughed awkwardly, although no one seemed to notice as they heard movement in front of them.

"Crap, it's Nee-san!" howled Franky, "It's so un-SUPER that she's here early!"

"We've gotta hide!" warned Chopper, who flew into the nearest bush in sight. "…Ouch."

Usopp face palmed, walking slowly to where the doctor was rubbing his sore head, a tear threatening to escape the animal's large eyes. The long-nosed man crouched down and looked around the deck; Zoro was with Robin behind a tree, Brook was hiding behind the stairs, Franky was trying to squish his large body into the kitchen chimney…

Usopp face palmed again.

And Sanji was just standing there?

"Oi Sanji!" called the sharpshooter, "What're you doing? You gotta hide!"

"Don't worry; I know what I'm doing."

At that moment, Nami walked onto deck to see Sanji staring back at her. She faltered in her approach to the cook, seeing that he wasn't going berserk like he usually would.

"Sanji-kun…" she frowned, "is something wrong?"

The man laughed bitterly at the innocent question. Taking the over-used cigarette out of his mouth and crushing it beneath his black boots, the man sighed loudly.

"…No, nothing's wrong. Not anymore."

The cartographer gave him a perplexed look, tugging her orange tresses behind her ear as she began to move forward again.

"Okay, I'll take you word for it."

A moment of silence filled the deck. Usopp grimaced, wondering where Sanji was going with this. He wasn't going to back out, was he?

"So, why did you ask me to meet you?"

That question pulled Sanji out of his thoughts. He laid his dark eyes on her maroon ones for a second or two, and quickly looked away, and chose to look beyond her instead.

"It hurts to do this, Nami-swan."

"…Do what?"

"I know how you feel…" he began, letting his jacket rustle softly in the gentle wind, "about Luffy, that is."

Nami merely stared back in apprehension. A frown formed on her lips, her eyes apologetic like her tone.

"You do?"

"Yes, and I'm okay with it."

"…You are?"

For the first time in what seemed like ages, Sanji greeted her comment with a loud grin.

"Uwah? What's going on? Why is everyone hiding?"

This comment broke the tension quick enough.

"AHAHAA, FRANKY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE CHIMNEY?"

Luffy clutched his stomach as he laughed.

And as he did laugh, Usopp fell to the floor in total hysteria.

"Usopp…" growled Nami, embarrassment evident on her features, "GET OUT HERE NOW!"

"I'm too shocked to."

Zoro just rolled his eyes, walking onto deck as everyone else did. Chopper tried to drag the long-nosed man to the centre where Nami stood, hands on hips.

Sanji remained silent.

"What's going on?" asked Luffy, head tilted to one side.

"FOR THE LOVE OF-!" cried Usopp, jumping up into a standing position. The man stomped over to where his captain was, dragging a hand down his face in total and utter desperation. "JUST TELL HER ALREADY."

Luffy gave the boy a confused look for a few moments before realisation dawned on his face.

"Oi, Nami." he called, turning to face the speechless navigator.

She looked back at him, not daring to take her eyes off of his. Everyone was silent. Not even the sound of the wind could be heard at this point, Nami couldn't even hear the sound of-

"MARINES!" cried Sanji, running over to the side to kick an incoming cannonball.

Chopper paled as he looked towards a silent Usopp. "A-are you okay?"

_**THUD.**_

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The sky was dark; stars shone brightly, capturing the attention of the rubber-boy. He was positioned on the head of the Thousand Sunny, like always. The wind swept past him, causing his ebony locks to shuffle uncontrollably. His usual hat rest on his back, the only thing keeping it from being blown away an old and tattered string.

Ever since the whole Ace incident, Luffy had changed. His usual childish nature was still there, that was for sure, but he kept to himself at night, lost in thought as he looked up to the dark sea around him. He became more serious, too; not incredibly so, he was still a complete goofball at the most important of times, he still laughed and grinned and played with his fellow crew mates like the world was just one big game.

But deep inside he knew it wasn't.

He thought back to Impel Down.

A strange smile was on his face as he thought of his brother. Losing Ace showed him that he had to become stronger. He had to become stronger so he could protect the ones he loved. He had to become stronger so they don't have to go through the pain he went though.

His last thought made him think of Nami.

If he remembered correctly, she already went through the same thing. Arlong shot her mother right in front of her eyes and then took her from her loved ones, forcing her to work for him and only him.

Luffy frowned, clenching his hand into a fist as he thought back to how Nami was when she found out Arlong had deceived her.

She looked so utterly damaged; so broken.

He wouldn't let her, or any of his nakama, go through that kind of torture.

"Luffy?"

The sound of his name being called dragged the boy out of his thoughts. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was, and simply patted the space next to him.

Seeing this, Nami walked up to Sunny's head and pushed herself up.

They sat in silence for a while, both thinking about their individual matters.

A muffled sigh caused the boy to look at Nami, frowning slightly.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

"…You're a bad liar."

A nerve twanged in Nami's forehead. "That's rich coming from you!"

Luffy laughed, closing his eyes and leaning back slightly, hands behind his back to support his weight.

And Nami smiled too.

The silence continued for a few moments longer until Luffy finally spoke.

"What'cha thinking about?"

"What am I thinking about?" repeated Nami, turning to face the boy next to her. "I'm thinking about what an idiot you are."

"Oi!"

"You're taking _way _too long to confess to me." she reasoned, huffing and tilting her nose upwards.

"Wha-?" began Luffy, mouth ajar slightly as he thought of what to say, "That's not fair! I keep gettin' interrupted!"

"Pfft, excuses." she taunted, smiling widely at the boy's pouting face.

"Fine, I'll do it now then!" he declared, a grin replacing his frown in an instance.

Nami turned her body towards the boy, folding her arms delicately into one another as she waited.

"Nami," he began. Before continuing, he turned around to make sure they were alone. He glanced at the vast ocean in chance of spotting an incoming vessel. He even double checked the chimney to reassure himself that Franky didn't try to fit in there again.

"I love you."

At this, Nami grinned widely. She turned back to the dark sea, listening to the lapping waves which jostled the ship back and forth.

"Finally." she laughed, causing him to join in.

Nami rested her head on his shoulder, causing him to stiffen for a moment, only to relax and smile warmly. He chuckled and continued to look ahead.

"Luffy?"

"Hmm?"

"Come closer, would you?"

Luffy leaned further into Nami as instructed, only to be taken by surprise as she pecked his lips. It was a quick kiss; nothing more than a second or two.

But it still caused Luffy to grin uncontrollably.

"Guess that means you love me too?"

"You could say that."

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Usopp shot up from the bed, causing him to fall out onto the floor. "Ow."

"Oh, you're awake."

The sniper sat up, rubbing his head. Noticing who else was in the room, he tilted his head in confusion.

"What happened? he asked Chopper, who was sitting in his chair while sorting through his desk.

"You fainted, so we brought you in here."

"We?"

"Sanji and I."

Usopp looked to the other side of the sick bay, meeting eyes with the blond cook.

"Sanji! What have I told you about smoking in here?"

"Sorry, Chopper. I just came to check on him."

"How long was I out?"

"A couple hours. Everyone's waiting for you on deck."

"Really? Why?"

"They're having a party for Luffy and Nami-swan."

"Oh, I- WHAT?"

Sanji, started to walk out of the room. Usopp snapped back into his senses and followed the man out, all the while clutching his head from where he must have landed when fainting.

The party was in full swing. Zoro was chugging down the alcohol with a cola-drinking Franky, Robin was now talking to Chopper who followed after Usopp a few moments ago; Luffy was laughing merrily as Brook played an up-beat version of Bink's Sake, dancing with the orange haired navigator.

What a sight to see.

Nami was grinning widely, too, hands wrapped possessively around the boys neck, his hands on her waist. They span around the deck, barely missing the other crew members. Soon everyone joined in, including Usopp.

When the song was finished, Nami turned around and faced Usopp beckoning him to her. Gulping, the long-nosed man reluctantly made his way over to where she and Luffy stood. She raised a finger, silently commanding him to come closer, which made him sweat in horror of what she might do.

Was she mad at him for meddling in her love life?

"Thank you, Usopp."

Nami smiled warmly at the boy, and turned back to face the captain, who was staring at the sharpshooter.

"Oi, Usopp! You okay? Why'd ya faint before?"

The sniper merely laughed at the questions before joining in once more with the festivities.

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"So," Zoro began, turning to face the curly browed man next to him, "why'd ya do it?"

He was silent for a moment, taking a long drag of his cigarette before looking down to the deck below them.

It was late, and the straw hat crew had partied for hours on end in celebration of the bond of the navigator and her captain.

Franky had passed out after drinking too much cola, and lay atop of the table as he snored loudly. Brook was in the corner, protectively grasping his violin. Robin was on the opposite side, back against the railings with a book in hand as a sleeping Chopper relaxed in her lap. Usopp was sprawled out in the middle of the deck on his stomach, limbs outstretched as he breathed deeply.

The blond haired cook then moved his eyes over to the other two crew members; Luffy was fast asleep, arm protectively around Nami's waist. The navigator had her head on his chest, her left hand on his shoulder. A content smile adorned the captain's features as he snuggled her further into his chest.

At this, Sanji smiled widely, turning back to the green-haired first mate.

"I guess I'm just a sucker for romance. "


End file.
